s discovery.

From that day forward the gentleman from Arkansas instituted a rigid
buttonhole inspection before venturing from his hut, besides purchasing
a share in a new clothesbroom.

"'Pears to me I don't see Blizzer playin' keerds with you fellers ez
much ez he wuz," remarked Uncle Ben one evening at the store.

"No," said Flipp, the champion euchre-player, with a sad face and a
strong oath. "He used to lose his ounces like a man. But t'other night I
knocked at his door, and asked him to come down an' hev a han'. He
didn't say nothin', but _she_ up an' sed he'd stopped playin'. I reely
tuk it to be my duty to argy with her, an' show her how tough it wuz to
cut off a feller's enjoyment; but she sed 'twas too high-priced fur the
fun it fetched."

"That ain't the wust, nuther," said Topjack Flipp's usual partner.
"There wuz Arkansas Bill an' Jerry Miller, thet used to be ez fond of
ther little game ez anybody. Now, ev'ry night they go up thar to
Blizzer's, an' jest do nothin' but sit aroun' an' talk. It's enough to
make a marble statoo cuss to see good men spiled that way."

"Somethin' 'stonishin' 'bout what comes of it, though," resumed the
deacon. "'Twas only yestiddy thet Bill was kerryin' a bucket of dirt to
the crick, an' jest ez he got there his foot slipped in, an' he went
kerslosh. Knowin' Bill's language on sech occasions ain't what a
church-member ort to hear, I was makin' it convenient to leave, when
along come _her_, an' he choked off ez suddin ez a feller on the
gallers."

Day by day the boys dug dirt, and carried it to the creek, and washed
out the precious gold; day by day the denizens of Tough Case worked as
many hours and as industriously as men anywhere. But no Tough Caseite
was so wicked as to work on Sunday.

Sunday at Tough Case commenced at sunset on Saturday, after the good old
Puritan fashion, and lasted through until working-time on Monday
morning. But beyond this matter of time the Puritan parallel could not
be pursued, for on Sunday was transacted all the irregular business of
the week; on Sunday was done all the hard drinking and heavy gambling;
and on Sunday were settled such personal difficulties as were superior
to the limited time and low liquor-pressure of the week.

The evening sun of the first Saturday of Mrs. Blizzer's residence at
Tough Case considered his day's work done, and retired under the snowy
coverlets the Sierras lent him. The tired miners gladly dropped pick,
sh