lared Hal. "What else was he after?"

Neither Ted nor Janet could answer that.

"But how will we know where it is?" asked Janet. "We don't know where
there's any gold, and mother won't want us to go near that tramp-man."

"And I don't want to, either," answered Hal. "But we can dig down till
we find the gold, can't we?"

"If we knowed--I mean if we knew where to dig," agreed Ted, after
thinking about it. "But digging for gold isn't like digging for
angle-worms to go fishing. You can dig them anywhere. But you've got to
have a gold mine to dig for gold."

"Well, we'll start a mine," decided Hal. "That's what the miners do out
West. I read about it in a book at the Home when I was crippled and
couldn't walk much. The miners just start to dig, and if they don't find
gold in one place they dig in another. That's what we'll do. We'll dig
till we find the gold, then well have a gold mine."

"Oh, yes, let's do it!" cried Jan. "I'd love to have some gold to make a
pair of bracelets for my doll."

"Pooh!" scoffed Ted, "if we get gold we aren't going to waste it on
doll's bracelets! Are we, Hal?"

"Well, if Jan helps us dig she can have her share of the gold. That's
what miners always do. They divide up the gold and each one takes his
share. Of course Jan can do what she likes with hers."

"There, see, Mr. Smarty!" cried Jan to her brother. "I'll make my gold
into doll's bracelets."

"Maybe you won't get any," objected Ted.

"Well, I'll help you dig, anyhow. I helped grandpa dig trenches around
the tents so the rain water would run off, and I can help dig a gold
mine. I know where the shovels are."

"Good!" cried Hal.

"We don't want any girls in this gold mine!" objected Ted, as his sister
hurried off to where Grandpa Martin kept the shovels, hoes and other
garden tools he used about the camp.

Usually Ted did not mind what game his sister played with him, but since
Hal had spoken of gold the little Curlytop boy had acted differently.

"We don't want girls in the gold mine," repeated Ted.

"Course we do!" laughed Hal. "Jan's a strong digger, and I can't do very
much, as my foot that used to be lame isn't all well yet. It used to be
almost as strong as the other, but now it isn't. So you and Jan will
have to do most of the digging, though I can shovel away the dirt.
Anyhow they always have girls or women in gold camps, you know."

"They do?" cried Ted.

"Of course! They do the cooking where there aren't any