quartz rock. In front of this a
deep hole had been dug by somebody, and near it were traces of old
camp-fires, bones of deer and buffalo, some rusty tin cans, and a
worn-out pickaxe.

"That's the lode, jedge. It's all I ever told ye it was. Safest place in
the world, too, now the 'Paches are gethered onto their reservation. We
can go right to work to-morrow mornin'."

Judge Parks was at that moment examining some bits of quartz he had
picked up. He took from his pocket a magnifying-glass and closely
inspected stone after stone.

"It looks like it, Pine. I haven't a doubt of the value of that vein.
Look at that, Sile."

Sile looked with a face more deeply flushed than even his father's.

"Why, it's exactly like Yellow Pine's old specimens, so far as I can
see; no more gold in these than in them."

"That's just the point, Sile. He brought me fair specimens. There isn't
any humbug or delusion about it. It's all right, Pine, so far as I can
see. As for safety, the mouth of this notch could be made a perfect fort
of, if we had to quit mining and go to fighting."

"Guess we won't ever have to do that. Game's plenty, and so is fish, and
we won't have to use up our provisions. Chance for you, Sile. You can
keep the camp-fires going. Fetch in some fish, first thing in the
morning, and then go for all the fresh meat there is. What we don't eat
we can cure and put away."

"I'll do the hunting!" shouted Sile. "What are the men all chopping
for? There's plenty of dry dead wood."

"I'd call it!" exclaimed Yellow Pine. "If they ain't struck with the
mine-fever now. Jest look at 'em, jedge."

"Pine," shouted one of the men from a little distance, "this 'ere shelf
by the spring's the spot you marked for the shelter, isn't it?"

"All right, boys," he responded. "Thirty feet by twelve, and an ell for
cooking and an ell for stowage."

"Nine feet high to the front, and slope to seven and a half, and lay on
the mud as you go?"

"That's it. Pitch in, boys."

"I declare," said the judge; "they haven't eaten a mouthful and they've
begun building."

"They're old hands, and the sight of that show of pay-rock has kind o'
stirred 'em up. It's all correct, though, jedge. We can look for storms
every now and then, and the shelter won't be up any too soon if one of
them busters should happen to be on its way."

CHAPTER XXII

A NEW SETTLEMENT

There is nothing else like enthusiasm. That band of bearded miners went
into