"'Why, that is Miss Necia Gale, the mine-owner.' And then you will come along, and they will say:
"'That is Lieutenant Burrell, the millionaire, and—'"
"Hold on! hold on!" said the soldier, stopping her breathless patter. "Tell me all about this."
"Well, 'No Creek' came in this morning to tell dad and Poleon. Then the boat arrived with an old friend of Lee's, a Mr. Stark, so Lee told him, too, and now they've all gone back to his creek to stake more claims. They slipped away quietly to prevent suspicion, but I knew there was something up from the way Poleon acted, so I made Alluna tell me all about it. They haven't more than two hours start of us, and we can overtake them easily."
"We! Why, we are not going?"
"Yes, we are," she insisted, impatiently—"you and I. That's why I came, so you can get a mine for yourself and be a rich man, and so you can help me get one. I know the way. Hurry up!"
"No," said he, in as firm a tone as he could command. "In the first place, these men don't like me, and they don't want me to share in this."
"What do you care?"
"In the second place, I'm not a miner. I don't know how to proceed."
"Nevermind; I do. I've heard nothing but mining all my life."