“Find any big nuggets?” Nick broke in eagerly. “Real big ones?”
“Naw,” Gus responded. “Nary a nugget. Been gettin’ a fair amount of dust, though, by pannin’. Only that’s not what I came out here for.”
“It’s slow, but sure,” Silent said quietly. “The other is just luck.”
“An’ that’s just what I’m lookin’ for,” Gus declared. “Lady Luck! She can soak her socks in my coffee any time a-tall. Say, where you guys stayin’ to-night?”
“We’ve got to locate some place,” Teddy answered. “How about near you?”
“Fine! That spot big enough?” He pointed to a bare place at the side of his tent. It was amply large enough to accommodate the two tents.
“Fine,” Teddy asserted. “What do you say, Roy?”
“Suits me. Let’s get the mules unloaded.”
By the light of lanterns, the packs were removed, the tents spread and raised. Teddy and Roy had one, Silent and Nick the other. The mules were outspanned some distance from the street, and the horses were tied, after feeding and watering them, nearer the tents.
“Jim Casey an’ Nat Raymond got a tent over on the other side,” Gus told them when they had finished their labors. “They’ll be glad to hear you came. Say, ain’t you fellows hungry?”