LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

“The Golden Chimney”[Frontispiece]
Facing Page
“Our Boy Miner”[136]
“As Ben approached he saw Ng Quong
leaning against the iron balustrade”		[182]
“‘Rockin’ on the beach of San Francisco
and makin’ our two and three hundred
a day,’ said Mundon”		[206]

THE GOLDEN CHIMNEY

CHAPTER I DISCOVERY OF THE MINE

Ben Ralston and his cousin Beth were sitting on the northern slope of Russian Hill, one of the many hills of San Francisco. At the foot of the elevation the black buildings and smokeless chimney of an abandoned smelting-works rose from the beach which skirted the hill. Beyond, the blue bay sparkled in the sunlight, except where fleeting cloud-shadows raced across its surface.

“I was born just about forty years too late,” the boy remarked with emphasis.