to go off for a day's shootin' in the mountains."

"Very good, captain," replied Ned; "but I fear you'll have to go by
yourself, for we must work out this claim as fast as we can, seeing that
the miners further down won't be long of scenting out our discovery."

Ned's words were prophetic. In less than half-an-hour after they were
uttered a long-visaged Yankee, in a straw hat, nankeen trousers, and
fisherman's boots, came to the spot where they were at work, and seated
himself on the trunk of a tree hard by to watch their proceedings.

"Guess you've got som'thin'," he said, as Larry, after groping in the
mud for a little, picked up a lump of white quartz with a piece of gold
the size of a marble embedded in the side of it.

"Ah! but ye're good for sore eyes," cried Larry, examining the nugget
carefully.

"I say, stranger," inquired the Yankee, "d'ye git many bits like that in
this location?"

The Irishman regarded his question with an expressive leer. "Arrah!
now, ye won't tell?" he said, in a hoarse whisper; "sure it'll be the
death o' me av ye do. There's _no end_ o' them things here--as many as
ye like to pick; it's only the day before to-morrow that I turned up a
nugget of pure goold the size of me head; and the capting got hold o'
wan that's only half dug out yet, an' wot's seen o' 't is as big as the
head o' a five-gallon cask--all pure goold."

The Yankee was not to be put off the scent by such a facetious piece of
information. He continued to smoke in silence, sauntered about with his
hands in his nankeen pockets, watched the proceedings of the party,
inspected the dirt cast ashore, and, finally, dug out and washed a
panful of earth from the banks of the stream, after which he threw away
the stump of his cigar, and went off whistling. Three hours later he
returned with a party of friends, laden with tents, provisions, and
mining tools, and they all took up their residence within twenty yards
of our adventurers, and commenced to turn the course of the river just
below them.

Larry and Jones were at first so angry that they seriously meditated
committing an assault upon the intruders, despite the remonstrances of
Tom Collins and Maxton, who assured them that the new-comers had a
perfect right to the ground they occupied, and that any attempt to
interrupt them by violence would certainly be brought under the notice
of Judge Lynch, whose favourite punishments, they well knew, were
whipping and hanging.