. We could dig gold from the soil almost at will.
It would seem that this single fact would keep normally acquisitive men
keyed to a high pitch of endeavour all the time; but it was not so. I
suppose we needed a vacation. We began to discuss what we would do when
we should see the city again. No one for a moment dreamed that we should
quit these rich diggings. We were here to make our fortunes; and the
fortunes seemed to be ready for the making. Only the novelty having
passed, it had become hard work, just like the making of any other kind
of a fortune.

The Pine family camped below us, used our corral, at our invitation, and
set placidly to work. They were typical frontiersmen, and settled down
in the well-built cabin which they quickly ran up as though they meant
to make of it a permanent home. For two months, which brought us up to
the end of July, they lived a regular and leisurely life. Then one
morning, without any warning at all, they rode over to our cabin,
leading their horses, fully packed. Old man Pine explained, while his
five tall, steady-eyed sons sat their horses quite immobile in the
background, that they had dug enough gold for their necessities, and
that they were now going down to the lower country to pick out some good
land. These men were the very first I happened to meet who had come into
the country with a definite idea of settling.

After the departure of this strong force, began our discussions as to
the safeguarding of our gold. It had now reached a very considerable
sum--somewhere near thirty-five thousand dollars, as I remember it.
Bagsby was very uneasy at its presence in camp.

"The Injuns are beginning to know it's wuth something," he pointed out.
"They don't know yet how much, but they know it will buy beads and
buttons and paint and whiskey and everything else an Injun wants. And
they know that's what we're yere for; and that we must have a lot of it.
I don't calc'late that lot we licked will bother us ag'in; but they'll
spread the news we're yere. And there's lots of bandits and scoundrels
glad to take a chance at us. And while we come out all right before,
they'll git us in the long run if we keep at it. I'd like to git rid of
the stuff."

Don Gaspar agreed with him, as did also Yank, Buck Barry, and Missouri
Jones. McNally, Johnny, and I inclined to the belief that we would do
better to keep our wealth by us until we finally left the diggings,
maintaining always a proper guard. We