a lead-mine in my
pocket--you see if I don't."

"All right, Tom," said my father, laughing, as he shook hands with him.
"I shall be glad to have it, even if it is only a pocket edition. So,
good-bye, old man, and good luck to you."

It was two days after this that my father at breakfast time turned to us
and said:

"Boys, how would you like to take your ponies and go and see Tom Connor
at work? There is not much to do on the ranch just now, and an outing of
two or three days will do you good."

Needless to say, we jumped at the chance, and as soon as we could get
off, away we went, delighted at the prospect of making an expedition
into the mountains.

The place where Tom was at work was thirty miles beyond Sulphide, a long
ride, nearly all up hill, and it was not till towards sunset that we
approached his camp. As we did so, a very surprising sight met our gaze:
three men, close together, with their backs to us, down on their hands
and knees, like Mahomedans saying their prayers.

"What are they up to?" asked Joe. "Have they lost something?"

At this moment, my horse's hoof striking a stone caused the three men to
look up. One was Connor, one was his helper, and the other, to our
surprise, was Yetmore.

Connor sprang to his feet and ran towards us, crying:

"What did I tell you, boys! What did I tell you! Get off your ponies,
quick, and come and see!"

He was wild with excitement.

We slid from our horses, and joining the other two, went down on our
knees beside them. Upon the ground before them lay the object of their
worship: a "core" from the drill, neatly pieced together, about eight
feet long and something less than an inch in diameter. Of this core,
four feet or more at one end and about half a foot at the other was
composed of some kind of stone, but in between, for a length of three
feet and an inch or two, it was all smooth, shining lead-ore.

Tom Connor had struck it, and no mistake!

"Tom," said Yetmore, as we all rose to our feet again, "this _looks_
like a pretty fair strike; but you've got to remember that we know
nothing about the extent of the vein--one hole doesn't prove much. It is
three feet thick at this particular point, but it may be only three
inches five feet away; and as to its length and breadth, why, that's all
pure speculation. All the same I'm ready to make a deal with you. I'll
buy your interest or I'll sell you mine. What do you say?"

"What's the use of that kind of talk