CHAPTER XXIII
"Well, where shall we try our luck next?"
It was Mark who asked that question. He was resting in front of the cabin mending a hole in his shirt. The hard work of the past six weeks had told on his clothing and he often had to sit down and do some mending.
The young gold hunters had been fairly successful but not nearly as much so as they wished. The chamois bag held about four hundred dollars' worth of dust, which meant a hundred dollars each for the partners.
"Good enough wages," said Bob. "But I came out here to win my fortune."
"And so did I," answered Mark, and then asked the question, "Well, where shall we try our luck next?"
"This district seems about used up," said Si. "I move we go to some other place."
"A man told me yesterday things looked good over to a place called Three Cross Gulch," said Maybe Dixon. "If you want to try it over there, say the word, and I'll be with ye."
"How far is that from here?" questioned Mark.
"He said about twenty miles."
"Then we will have to give up the cabin."
"That is so, too, but we didn't expect to stay here all the time, anyway."
"Of course we didn't."
"Let us go to Three Cross Gulch to-morrow!" cried Si, impetuously. He was getting the gold fever good and strong, now that he saw gold was really to be had.
"Three Cross Gulch it is!" exclaimed Bob; and so it was settled.
The rest had done Darling good and he spent the whole day in wandering around the river bank, picking up odds and ends to eat. He was perfectly willing to carry the load they put on him the next morning, and by ten o'clock they bid farewell to their old camping spot and struck out for the new diggings Maybe Dixon had mentioned.
The way was far from an easy one, and they had their own troubles in getting into the gulch, which had suddenly become the scene of great activity. Miners were pouring in from everywhere, and tents were springing up "like mushrooms," as Bob expressed it.
"We'll have to see if we can't get a tent," said Mark, and for that purpose visited a spot where a jolly German was selling all manner of supplies which he had brought to the place from San Francisco on the backs of eight horses.
"Yah! I can sell you von dent," said the German. "I got dree left," and he brought them out.
Two were new and the third had seen slight service. They thought this latter might answer their purpose, and asked the man what he wanted for it.
"I sold you dot dent for four ounces," said the German.
"Four ounces!" cried Mark.
"Why, that's about sixty-four dollars!" gasped Si. "The tent didn't cost more than ten or twelve!"
"Yah, but he cost a lot to git him here," said the man who sold supplies.
"You won't take less?" asked Bob.
"Nein, I cannot do dot."
"I reckon it's a case of take it or leave it," said Maybe Dixon. "We had better take him up, for I don't see any other chance to get canvas."
"All right, but it breaks my heart to give up four ounces of gold for it," groaned Si.
They took the tent, and then purchased some other supplies which they desired. That night they stretched the canvas over some bushes and slept under it. The next day they cut poles and pitched the tent in proper shape, cutting a trench around it, so that the rain might run off and keep the ground inside dry. They covered the flooring with bark, and made several couches of pine boughs.
The next week found them working hard in two claims they had staked out. Not much gold in the dust was found, but quite some of the precious metal in grains which occasionally reached to the size of nuggets.
"Nuggets are what I want," cried Bob. "A good big nugget beats dust all to pieces!"
"Dust is all right, if you can only git enough of it," answered Maybe Dixon.
At the end of the second week at Three Cross Gulch they calculated that they had brought in over three hundred dollars' worth of dust and small nuggets. The largest of the nuggets was found by Si and was thought to be worth fifty to sixty dollars. It made the former farm lad dance a jig for joy.
"I've got to send news of that to hum," he said. "Gosh, but this beats farmin' all to bits, don't it?"
"Like to get a market basket full of 'em, eh, Si?" said Mark, dryly.
"Wouldn't you?"
"You bet!" laughed Mark, dropping into the common expression of the day.
The weather was growing steadily warmer, and soon the buds began to come out and the grass took on its coat of green. Sleeping in the tent was quite comfortable, and the boys declared it would have been stuffy to have remained in a cabin.
Mark was getting hardened to the labor and it was but seldom that his back ached as it had when he had first taken hold. They soon gave up one claim as next to worthless and all four of the partners labored along a small brook flowing into the gulch, which was dry a good part of the time, the water soaking away in the sandy bottom.
It was late on Friday afternoon that Mark and Bob were digging around the bottom of a big bowlder which was imbedded in the dark sand. They had uncovered some fair-sized grains of gold and were trying to reach the bottom of the "sand pocket," as they called it.
"Not a great deal of gold here," remarked Bob. "But I guess it is worth working for."
"We are making more than fair wages, Bob."
"Oh, I know that, Mark. But when a fellow gets used to making big money he hates to drop back."
"That is so too. But let us go down to the bottom here, anyway."
"That is what I calculate to do. The most gold will lie next to the rock under the sand."
They continued to labor. It was hard work and both were in a heavy perspiration. But at last they got down to the bottom rock and Mark brought out what was left of the sand on his shovel.
"Look!"
"Look!"
Both boys gave the cry and each stooped to pick up a dull yellowish lump. Mark secured it and carried it to where the light could fall upon it.
"A NUGGET OF GOLD!" CRIED MARK.
"A NUGGET OF GOLD!" CRIED MARK.
"A NUGGET OF GOLD!" CRIED MARK.
"A nugget of gold!"
"Yes, and a good-sized one too!"
"What do you suppose it is worth?"
"According to the worth of the one Si found this must count up to four or five hundred dollars!"
"Great mackerel, Mark! Now we are doing something, aren't we?"
"Let us see if there are any more."
In a fever of excitement the two boys began to bring away what was left of the sand. They found six other nuggets, but all much smaller. Then they went over the sand with care, getting out the dust and small grains.
"This is the best find yet," declared Mark. "We've got at least six hundred dollars' worth of nuggets and dust here!"
"That's the kind of a find to make!"
In high delight they went to the tent and a few minutes later Si and Maybe Dixon came in. Both were smiling.
"We got about two hundred dollars' worth of nuggets," said Si, in a whisper, so that nobody in the other tents close at hand might hear.
"And look what we got," said Mark, showing the big nugget.
"And these too," added Bob, bringing forth the balance of the find.
"Well, just to look at that!" cried Maybe Dixon. "Say, we are striking it lucky, we are!"
Sitting down by candlelight, with the flaps of the tent carefully closed from curious eyes, they brought out their scales and calculated the worth of the find. As Maybe Dixon figured it, they had between seven hundred and fifty and eight hundred dollars' worth of gold.
"Think of that for one day's work!" cried Si. "Why, it is more than a man can earn in a year on a farm!"
"Hush, Si! not so loud," said Mark, warningly. "Somebody may hear you."
"That's so, I forgot," answered the former farm lad. "I'll be more careful after this," he added, in a whisper.
"We have certainly done very well," said Maybe Dixon. "Maybe to-morrow we'll do still better."
"We're getting nuggets, that's certain," said Mark. "At this rate it won't take us long to get a fortune together."
"Oh, we can't expect such luck to last," said Bob.
"Why not, I'd like to know?" demanded Si. "Now we have struck our gait, let us keep it up."
"I am willing to keep it up—if I can," laughed the former sailor boy. "Nothing would suit me better."
With great care they put the nuggets away in a gold bag. Maybe Dixon had been carrying it around with him, but now it was decided to hide the bag.
"I know a place," said Si, and mentioned a hollow tree just back of the tent. "Nobody would look for it there."
He had just spoken when from outside of the tent there came a sudden strong sneeze.
"Hullo! somebody is out there!" cried Maybe Dixon.
"He must have heard what I said!" gasped Si.
Mark sprang for the flap of the tent and threw it open. Outside all was dark, and a puff of wind blew out their candle.
"I see a man!" cried Bob, pointing to a dim figure, hurrying toward some brush a hundred feet away. "Hi! stop!" he yelled. But the man kept on and soon disappeared in the gloom of the night.