Luke looked a little surprised.
"A gentleman was speaking to me on that subject this morning," he said.
"What did he say to you?" asked Stephen, curiously.
"He recommended me to go West, but did not seem to approve of California."
"Why not. Had he ever been there?"
"He said he had visited San Francisco, but had never been in the interior."
"What a whopper that was!" thought Stephen Webb. "Why should Uncle Thomas say that?"
"What sort of a looking man was he? Had you ever seen him before?" he inquired.
"He is a peculiar-looking man—has a wart on his right cheek."
"Did he mention the particular part of the West?"