As neither cared to taste the Mountain Dew, so winsome to a majority of the miners, the two often spent their evenings thus, especially since the shadow caused by the coming of Lieutenant Russell had fallen across their threshold.
“Things begin to look better than afore,” remarked Ruggles, sitting with one leg flung across the other and looking thoughtfully into the fire.
“Yes, I always insisted that the soil about here is auriferous and we had only to stick to it to obtain our reward.”
Ruggles took his pipe from his mouth and looked at his partner with a disgusted expression.
“What are you talkin’ ’bout, parson?”
“Didn’t you refer to the diggings?” he innocently asked in turn.
“Come now, that won’t do; you know my references 149 to allusions was the leftenant and the young lady. I say things look better as regards the same.”
“In what way?”
“In the only way there could be. They don’t care partic’lar for each other.”
“There is no doubt they did some time ago.”