llow glittering sand. Some of this, by care and patience,
he managed to get out of the water before it was quite washed away; and,
placing it in the palm of his hand, he gently agitated it to and fro
beneath the surface of the water until all the lighter particles were
washed away, when there remained in his hand a minute quantity of fine
yellow dust.

"There," he said, "what do you think of that, Blanche? It is gold-dust,
my dear girl; and if we could drain off the water from this pool--and it
might be done without much trouble--we should find plenty of it
underneath that fine white sand. Now, let us inspect a little further."

They accordingly began to walk slowly up the border of the stream, which
descended the ravine by a series of miniature cataracts a foot or so in
height, usually with small sandy-bottomed basins beyond. One of these
basins proved to be so small and so shallow that, standing on a
projecting ledge of rock, Lance was able to make a tolerably thorough
examination of its bed with the aid of the before-mentioned branch, and
he had not been very long stirring up the sand with it when he turned up
four very fine nuggets, varying in size from a hen's egg to a six-pound
shot.

"Just as I expected," he exclaimed. "Now, the spot from which this gold
originally came is at the head of this ravine. These nuggets have all
been brought down here by the water; and the higher we go the larger
will the nuggets be, because of course, the heaviest of them will have
travelled the shortest distance. But before pushing our investigations
further, I propose that we sit down here and have luncheon; this is a
picturesque spot; and, what is perhaps more to the purpose, I am
frightfully hungry."

They accordingly seated themselves upon a great moss-grown rock, and
partook of the contents of the basket with all the appetite of healthy
people who had passed a long morning in the fresh pure air.

Luncheon over, and Lance having, at Blanche's request--or perhaps the
word _command_ would be nearer the truth--lighted a cigar, the pair
proceeded with their investigations.

The characteristics of the stream continued to be the same; short
lengths of sparkling water flowing over a boulder-strewn bed; diminutive
rapids; tiny cataracts; and occasional quiet pools between. One or two
of the smallest and least difficult of these pools Lance cursorily
examined, finding in each case one or more nuggets, the sizes increasing
a