"Mostly downs. I declare, I never knew such hard times as we're having now! Not only me, but every farmer I know. This long dry spell is likely to have a bad effect on the country."
"I believe you. We miners don't have it all our own way, either."
"I thought you said you had dug plenty of gold," put in Jed, who, with his brother, was an interested listener.
"So I did. But digging it and keeping it are two different things, young man."
"Did you lose what you had?" asked Mr. Crosby, who had heard from his sons something of their guest's history.
"I lost it—yes—in a way. I might as well tell you the story. It's not a very pleasant one. It goes to show that a man can be a pretty big fool when he tries real hard. That's not a very nice thing to say, but it's the truth."
"How did it happen?" asked Will.
"Well, as I've told you, I've been a gold miner for a number of years. I've prospected, or looked for gold, in many places in this country. And I've found my share of yellow nuggets in my time.
"I made my last strike in Nevada. Where I was, nobody thought there was much but silver, but I was lucky enough to come upon a good gold lead, and the vein got bigger the farther I dug. Well, to make a long story short, I took out several thousand dollars in pure gold. Then I lost it."
"Couldn't you find it again?" asked Nettie, who, with her brothers, was eagerly listening to the miner's story.