While speaking, he knelt and dipped his hands into the stream, bringing up some gravel into the lantern rays. But Pierre shook his head.
“You no find ze gold. Guadalupe wash many hours to get, perhaps, just one nugget. But there is heaps and heaps, if ze miners came with spades and cradles.”
“Great guns, there must be the reef, too, from which the nuggets have come!” exclaimed Dick, rising erect and dropping the handful of pebbles.
“Now, we must go back,” said Pierre, “for zis evening you are to be allowed to come for a ride with me down ze mountains.”
“You don’t say?” Dick cried, surprised and delighted.
“Yes; Don manuel he send word today that he give permission. But you must wear ze bandage round your eyes, and you must promise to return when I give ze word.”
“Don’t for one moment think, old fellow, that I would leave my drawings. But where are we going tonight?”
“To La Siesta,” replied Pierre.
“Hurrah!” shouted Dick. “Hurry up, Pierre! I’m mighty glad you got me those ties and things from Los Angeles. You say you can give me a hair-cut?”
“Ze old-time bandit learned to trim ze hair of his friends as well as ze pocket-books of his enemies,” was the laughing answer.