"I thought I should find the gold in big nuggets worth thousands of dollars apiece. I was always reading in the papers about finding them. I think it's a great shame to deceive people by such stories. I don't believe there are any nuggets."
"Oh, yes, there are; but they are few and far between," said Fletcher. "A neighbor of mine found one worth three thousand dollars. Altogether he brought home five thousand dollars, and invested it in a farm and saw-mill. He is doing a good business. When he came to California he had nothing."
"That is what I should like, Captain Fletcher," said Tom. "If I could only manage to carry home five thousand dollars, I could make my father comfortable for life."
"I shouldn't be satisfied with five thousand dollars," said Peabody, whose ideas were lofty.
"How much would satisfy you?"
"About fifty thousand," said the young Bostonian, his face lighting up at the thought of so large a sum.
"And what would you do with it, if I may make so bold?" asked Ferguson.
"I would buy a nice house at the South End, furnish it handsomely, and live in style."
"I suppose you would marry?" suggested Tom, smiling.
"I probably should," answered Peabody, gravely.