h! ah! ah!" cried Quong, excitedly, after giving the pinch of sand a
final shake. "Gole--gole!"

He held out the tin once more to Gunson, pointing now with one thin
yellow finger, and looking triumphantly at both in turn.

"Where?" said Gunson, laughing, as he followed the direction of the
pointing finger, and took the plate in his hand to hold it in different
directions in the sun. "Ah, I see it. Here, Gordon, come and have a
look. He has found the contents of Aladdin's cave all at once."

"I don't see any gold," I said. "Not see it? Oh, there it is plain
enough. My word, what patience these Chinese have! There it is, lad,
just in the very centre of the plate. See it?"

"No."

"Now try," he cried, as he tilted the plate sidewise, and this time I
saw a tiny glittering speck, about the twentieth part of a pin's-head in
size, but, small as it was, giving a suggestion of the peculiar yellow
colour of gold.

"Is that all?" I cried, contemptuously. "Yes; that's all. There you
are, heathen. Take it, and--no, you can't make much of it. That's no
use, my man. We must find better places than this, or you'll never go
back to China a rich man and become a Mandarin."

"No good place?"

"No; not worth washing."

"Not good to washum," said Quong. "Wait till we get higher up." Quong
nodded, took a little phial bottle from somewhere under his garments,
and after a great deal of trying, contrived to get the tiny scale on the
end of the cork, which he carefully inserted in the bottle once more.

After this he settled himself down to rest till Gunson rose for us to
continue our journey, which for the rest of that day was through pine
forest, with the trees so closely packed that our progress was
exceedingly slow; and evening was coming on fast as we reached a part
where the trees opened out more like those in an English park, and there
was soft grass beneath our feet.

I was in advance with my eyes fixed upon the ground, which had suddenly
become soft and marshy, the reason being plain, for on my left I could
hear the hum of falling water, when I suddenly stopped short, and drew
back so quickly that I came in contact with Esau.

"What's the matter?" he cried, sharply.

"Hush! Indians," I whispered.

"Indians? Where?" cried Gunson, eagerly.

"They have gone along here," I whispered. "Footmarks."

"Well, don't look so tragic, lad. They will be friendly ones no doubt;
and perhaps there is a settlement