"Oh, we can't stop to wash now!" cried Si. "Let us look for nuggets!" And they continued to labor, harder than ever.
By nightfall they were completely exhausted, but supremely happy. They had unearthed twenty-four nuggets of various sizes and shapes. Maybe Dixon surveyed each with care and counted up the probable value.
"I can't strike it very close," said he. "Fer we don't know the quality of 'em. But I should say we had all of thirty thousand dollars' worth o' gold here. And more'n likely that sand will pan out ten thousand dollars' worth more."
"Forty thousand dollars!" gasped Si. "We'll surely be rich now! Oh, what will my folks say when they hear of this!"
CHAPTER XXX
THE LANDSLIDE
They scarcely knew what to do with their treasure. The nuggets were heavy, so it would be no easy matter to move them from one place to another.
"I think the best we can do for the present is to bury them," said Maybe Dixon.
"We'll have to move up here," returned Mark.