nst hopefulness," Tom objected, smiling.
"All I ask of you men is not to spend the whole year's profits
from the mine before we get even one load fit to haul to the smelter."

"We've got the ore dump started," retorted Jennison, "and we don't
have to haul stuff to the smelter. Boss, you can raise money
enough without hauling a single load before spring."

"How?" Tom wanted to know.

"The banks at Dugout will lend you a small fraction of the value
of the dump as soon as they're satisfied that it has any value,"
Jim Ferrers explained.

"I didn't know that," Tom admitted.

"Now you can understand why the boys are excited tonight. They
know you'll outfit the camp liberally enough if the yellow streak
holds out."

"Outfit the camp liberally?" repeated Tom. "I'll go just as far
in that line as my partners will stand for."

"We want a bang-up Christmas dinner, you see, boss," Tim Walsh
explained. "We wouldn't have spoken of it if this streak hadn't
panned today. Now, we know we're going to have doings on the
ridge this winter."

"If the yellow rook holds out," Tom urged.

"Don't say anything more in that strain, just now, Reade," whispered
Jim. "If you do, and things go badly, the boys will think you've
been the camp's Jonah."

Tom went back to work in the partners' shack. Jim came in at ten
and went to bed. It was midnight when Tom shook Harry by the shoulder.

"Time to get up, young man, and give me a rest," Tom announced.

Harry got drowsily out of his bunk.

"Why didn't you call me before, Tom?"

"Well, to tell the truth, I was too busy. But now you may have
a few hours' work all by yourself, while I turn in," drawled Reade.

"Tom, old fellow, there's something up," discovered Hazelton,
now studying his chum's face keenly. "Out with it."

Then Tom told of the day's luck, though he cautioned Harry against
too soon growing elated.

"We'll just wait and hope," Reade finished. "Now I'll show you
the work that's on the bench."

The gold news had waked up Hazelton. He examined eagerly the
assay reports that Tom had filled out, then turned to the specimens
that awaited his attention.

At six in the morning Reade was up again, nor did Harry turn in.
Both were present to inspect the first tub-lot of ore that came
up the shaft. The yellow streak was continuing.

By the middle of the afternoon, however, the streak played out.
Though the men worked an hour overtime they did not succeed in
sendi