ousand miles from where you're sitting that puts
out exactly this same kind of ore, only it's not anywhere near as rich as
these picked samples of yours."

"What made you change your mind?" I queried, willing to see how far he
would go. "How do you know we are not raiding somebody's ore shed?"

"Because I know Bob Barrett," was the crisp reply. Then: "Why are you
boys making this night play? Why don't you come out in the open like
other folks--honest folks, I mean?"

"There are reasons," I asserted.

"Afraid somebody will catch on and swamp you with a rush of claim
stakers?"

"Call it that, if you like."

"You're plumb foolish, and I told Bob Barrett so last night. You're
carrying this stuff miles; I know by the way you come in here with your
tongues hanging out. It's like trying to dip the ocean dry with a pint
cup. One good wagon-load of your ore--if you've got that much--would
count for more than you three could lug in a month of Sundays."

I knew this as well as he did, but I was not there to argue.

"I guess we'll have to handle it our own way," I answered evasively; and
while he was sending my sack out to the testing room I fell sound asleep.

At the end of a week, after we had made two trips apiece, we had nearly
$7,000 in bank. Figured as a return for our labor, killing as that was,
it was magnificent. But as a war chest it was merely a drop in the
bucket. Given plenty of time, we might have won out eventually by the
sacked-sample route; but we knew we were not going to be given time.
Blackwell had been up twice; and the second time, Gifford, who was acting
as hammerman, had to sit in the bottom of the shaft, pretending to load
the half-drilled hole. Otherwise, the heavy-lidded eyes, peering down
over the barrel of the windlass would assuredly have seen the steadily
widening ore body.

On the sixth day Everton came across the spur. I think I should have
known him anywhere, but he did not recognize me, though I stood and
talked with him at the shaft mouth. His visit, as I took it, was not a
spying one. On the contrary it appeared to be merely neighborly. After
beating about the bush for a little time, he came down to particulars.
We must surely know, he said, that we were on Lawrenceburg ground, and it
was too bad we were throwing away our hard work. To this he added a
vague warning. Blackwell had been taking our amateur effort as a good
joke on Barrett, whom he had known only as a bank