ce to her husband,
"how can you say that, when we found this, and a lot of smaller nuggets,
and a good three thousand dollars' worth in gold-dust besides!" and she
held up before the astonished eyes of the circle a huge gold nugget. "It
weighs exactly five pounds and three and three-quarters ounces, and is
worth over a thousand dollars," and the Little Woman's face glowed with
triumph. "There," and she turned a pair of happy but defiant eyes on her
husband, "I just couldn't keep a thing like that to myself; and I
shouldn't want to, if I could; and I told Dick that I couldn't and I
wouldn't keep it from you and I didn't," and her eyes sparkled merrily.
"But Dick is getting a little afraid that, if it becomes known how big
our find really is it might tempt some scoundrel to try and get the gold
away from us."

"Not meaning you fellows, of course," and Dickson's face flushed.

"Shore, we understand an' without any explainin'," broke in Ham
heartily. "An', Leetle Woman, Dick's more'n half right 'bout bein' some
cautious who you tells y'ur good luck tew. Thar was a miner murdered for
his gold 'bout a week ago nigh Sacremento City; an' th' murderers worn't
caught an' might be a-snoopin' 'round Hangtown right now."

"Mercy!" and Mrs. Dickson turned a whitening face to Ham. "Why, there is
hardly a lock on a door in all Hangtown; and most of the miners don't
even take the trouble to hide their gold-dust securely. I thought
everybody knew that the climate of Hangtown wasn't good for the health
of robbers."

"An' so it ain't for them that gits caught," answered Ham. "But humans
will risk anything, even their lives for gold. Why, it wasn't more'n a
week ago that we run Skoonly out of town for stealin'! So, I reckon,
'tain't more'n good hoss-sense for you tew be some cautious now that you
are gittin' a fortune in gold. Not that thar's any harm in a-tellin' old
friends like us, 'cause we knows enough tew keep mum 'bout it," and Ham
glanced warningly around the circle of interested faces. "But 'twouldn't
be good sense tew let th' hull town know th' size of y'ur pile. It's tew
goll durned big an' temptin'. Not that I wants tew scare you, Leetle
Woman. Only it's jest good hoss-religion not tew tempt y'ur feller
mortals more'n it's necessary. Now forgit th' gold an' give us a song."

Ham had not been without his reasons in thus trying to arouse the fears
of Mr. and Mrs. Dickson and in warning the others to keep their
knowledge of th