"Only a little worn-out clothing and some mighty poor furniture," laughed Dickson. "Mollie and I calculate we can fix up the roof by noon good enough to last the few days we are likely to remain here; and the time it takes us to do that is our only real loss. You see, we've decided, if we get as much as twenty thousand dollars' worth of gold out of that hole, we'll get for New York as fast as the good Lord will let us; and it looks now as if it was good for that much, at least, before it gives out. Why, it won't take more than a couple of days more to fix us all right, if the gold continues to turn up the way it did yesterday! Hope it will be your turn next."
"Same here," laughed Mrs. Dickson. "My, but it does seem good to be digging real gold up out of the ground in handfuls. Hope that wing dam, or whatever you call it, will be the golden key that will unlock the door of fortune to you all."
"We all shore agrees with you thar," grinned Ham. "An' we all hopes that y'ur luck will continue, 'til you gits enough tew send you back home in fine style—not that we're none anxious tew see you go," he added hastily, "'cause 'twould be 'bout as painful an operation as bein' seperated from a sore tooth, to be seperated from that singin' apperatus of your'n. We'll be expectin' you tew come over an' sing some more for us tew-night."
"I certainly can't refuse, after such a compliment to my singing," she laughed back.
"It almost tempts me tew try hitchin' up myself, tew see them tew a-workin' tewgether as happy as tew nestin' birds," grinned Ham, as our friends, after a few minutes' longer talk with the joyful and fortunate couple, continued on their way. "I reckon that's 'bout th' kind of marriage th' feller meant, when he said they was made in heaven; for th' t'other kind 'pear tew be made in t'other place," and Ham chuckled.
That day they succeeded in building a wall of rocks, piled one on top of the other and plastered together with clay and the branches of trees, across the little stream itself and almost high enough to force the water to flow in the new channel. Consequently night found them jubilant; for now it began to look as if they might complete the dam on the morrow, and this was doing better by a day or two than they had expected to do.
"I reckon we had better bring along the pails and the pans to-morrow," Mr. Conroyal said, as he paused with Ham and Mr. Randolph for a last calculating look at the dam, before starting for the log house that night. "Looks now as if we might complete the dam and turn the water a little before night; and, if we do, we will want to get right to work at the hole. It sure looks as if we had struck a good thing here, boys," and his face lighted, as his eyes turned toward the elbow. "If this stream has been carrying down gold the way some of the streams have in this section, we'll have Dickson beat by a wagon load or two of gold a day. I can't see how it can help turning out something big," and the gold-fever light that shone in his eyes began to sparkle in the eyes of the others.
"It shore otter turn out big tew pay us for all this work," and Ham's glance slowly wandered over the huge piles of rocks and dirt that their shovels and strong arms had reared, "but thar's no countin' on what it'll do. 'Twouldn't s'prise me none, if we took out a wagon load of gold; an', ag'in, 'twouldn't s'prise me none, if we didn't take out a thimble load. Gold is 'bout as unsart'in an' queer as women. When you think you've got it shore, gosh, it ain't thar at all! But, I reckon you're right 'bout th' pans an' pails; an' I shore hopes you're right 'bout th' wagon loads of gold."
After supper that night Mr. and Mrs. Dickson came over and joined the circle around the big camp-fire that Thure and Bud had kindled in front of the log house. There was no need to be saving of wood, when all one had to do to get it was to cut it. Wood was the one thing that was free and plentiful in Hangtown.
"How did she pan out tew-day, Dick?" queried Ham, as Dickson seated himself on a log.