"Come along," invited Gabe heartily. "I reckon there's room for all, and I'm sure me and the boys are glad of your company."
"That's what we are," said Jed, and Will agreed with him.
So, having struck camp, they placed their packs on their horses, and, having smoked some of the elk and deer meat for future use, they set off.
They were now getting into the mountain region, and it was not as easy traveling as it had been. The way became rougher and wilder, and the horses, especially those of Jed, Will and Mr. Harrison, felt the pace very much.
"Guess you don't find this much easier than cultivating corn, do you?" asked the old miner one day, after a particularly hard bit of travel up a mountain side, and an equally difficult passage down the corresponding slope.
"It isn't as easy as I thought it was," admitted Jed. "Still, it's more exciting. Farming is pretty dull."
"Oh, you haven't begun to see excitement yet," put in Mr. Hurd. "Wait until you get to the new diggings, where the miners and gamblers are congregated."
"Speaking of gamblers reminds me that I wish I could set eyes on Con Morton," said Mr. Harrison. "The more I get to thinking of how he swindled me out of the biggest part of my fortune, the angrier I am."
"Do you think you'll ever see him again?" asked Jed.
"I certainly hope so. I shouldn't be surprised if he was out at the new diggings. He generally hustles to where the miners have plenty of money for him to swindle them out of. Once I get sight of him——"