y peaks of the Sierras hove
into view, dwarfing the mountain ridges of the gold fields. He paused to
inspect the ancient stream of lava which crossed his path, and
considered once more those convulsions of the earth which had thrown the
ancient river beds to the hill-tops, and of which California earthquakes
are a constant reminder.

Arrived at the summit of the ridge, he looked down upon Forest City, a
straggling village in a barren valley denuded of forests. Church,
school, and cemetery gave the place an air of permanence; but some day
it might disappear, like Chipp's Flat. It lay almost beneath him, so
steep was the road down the mountain. Beyond, up the bare valley of a
mountain stream, lay the trail to Downieville, nine miles away. His
mission to Hintzen performed, he would spend the night at Forest City,
and push on to Downieville the next morning.

Hintzen kept the general store at Forest City, a business more certain
and profitable than gold-mining; and having a reputation for strict
honesty, he had become a sort of agent and business manager for the
miners. He was one of the few men Robert Palmer trusted; therefore he
received the document from Keeler's hand without surprise. But he could
not repress a smile at the testator's extreme caution and resolved
forthwith to ask for a list of his friend's securities.

"How is the old man now?" he asked.

"Mr. Palmer has had a close call," replied Keeler. "But he is good for a
couple of years yet, I reckon."

"Sit down, Keeler, while I write him a note. You'll find a whiskey toddy
up there at the end of the counter.--Beg your pardon. Forgot your
temperance principles. There's fresh spring water in that bucket."

Next morning Keeler pushed on up the ascending valley of the mountain
torrent. The horns of a wild sheep by the wayside reminded him of
earlier days when game was plentiful. The only wild creatures along the
trail to-day were rattlesnakes. With these he was well acquainted. But
it did give him a start to find one twined about a branch of a bush.

An hour's steady climbing brought him to the top of the watershed
between the North and the Middle Yuba. Here a scene of wild grandeur lay
before him. Bare crags on either hand guarded the pass over the divide.
Immediately in front lay a whole system of deep canons, clothed with
primeval forests, wild and forbidding. Beyond towered a chain of rough,
bare mountain peaks. Keeler paused to wonder anew at the vastnes