he faces of the men were anything but attractive. Most of them were
heavily bearded, with long, frowsy, unkempt hair, dangling about the
shoulders. Every one displayed side arms, and there could be no
mistake in setting them down as a reckless lot, whom a peaceable
citizen would not care to meet anywhere.

The leader of this mongrel gang was a massive man, who bestrode so
small a mule that his feet were only a few inches from the ground.
There was little semblance of discipline in the company, but a certain
rude deference to the fellow, who kept his place at the head, and did
the loudest talking, ornamented with plenty of expletives, indicated
his prominence among his fellows.

The mountain tramps had descried the three men standing at the side of
the canyon, watching them as they approached. They ceased their
boisterous talking and studied them as they drew near.

"Howdy, pards?" called the leader, raising his two fingers to his
forehead and making a military salute, to which our friends responded
coolly, hoping the company would keep on without stopping.

But they were disappointed. Colonel Briggs, as his men called him,
suddenly shouted "Whoa!" in a voice that could have been heard a mile
off, and pulled so hard on his bridle rein that he drew the jaws of
the mule against his breast, while the rider lay back almost on the
haunches of his animal, who showed his contrariness by walking round
in a short circle before standing still.

"Which way, pards?" asked the leader, while his followers, who with
more or less effort succeeded in checking their mules, curiously
surveyed the three miners.

"We intend to visit Sacramento," replied Captain Dawson.

"Huh! that's where we come from."

"On your way to the diggings I presume?" continued the captain
courteously.

"That's what's the matter; we're going to New Constantinople, which is
the name of a mining settlement in Dead Man's Gulch. Do you know
anything of the place?"

"We live there."

"The deuce! Queer town, ain't it?"

"In what respect?"

"Don't like visitors; Red Tom and Missouri Mike, two of the gang with
me, stopped there a year or so ago with the idee of staying; the best
they could do was to sleep there one night and git fired the next
morning. That went agin the grain," continued Colonel Briggs, "and the
more the boys thought it over the madder they got. When they told the
rest of us, we made up our minds that the trouble was the diggings had
pan