"Ye made a bee line for the woods, I see," she said coldly. "I allowed
ye might have been droppin' in to our house first."

"So I should," said Fleming quickly, "but I thought I ought to first
make sure of the information you took the trouble to send me." He
hesitated to speak of the ill luck he had just experienced; he could
laugh at it himself--but would she?

"And ye got a new pan?" she said half poutingly.

Here seemed his opportunity. "Yes, but I'm afraid it hasn't the magic
of yours. I haven't even got the color. I believe you bewitched your old
pan."

Her face flushed a little and brightened, and her lip relaxed with a
smile. "Go 'long with yer! Ye don't mean to say ye had no luck to-day?"

"None--but in seeing you."

Her eyes sparkled. "Ye see, I said all 'long ye weren't much o' a miner.
Ye ain't got no faith. Ef ye had as much as a grain o' mustard seed,
ye'd remove mountains; it's in the Book."

"Yes, and this mountain is on the bedrock, and my faith is not strong
enough," he said laughingly. "And then, that would be having faith in
Mammon, and you don't want me to have THAT."

She looked at him curiously. "I jest reckon ye don't care a picayune
whether ye strike anything or not," she said half admiringly.

"To please you I'll try again, if you'll look on. Perhaps you'll bring
me luck as you did before. You shall take the pan. I will fill it and
you shall wash it out. You'll be my MASCOT."

She stiffened a little at this, and then said pertly, "Wot's that?"

"My good fairy."

She smiled again, this time with a new color in her pale face. "Maybe I
am," she said, with sudden gravity.

He quickly filled the pan again with soil, brought it to the spring,
and first washed out the greater bulk of loose soil. "Now come here and
kneel down beside me," he said, "and take the pan and do as I show you."

She knelt down obediently. Suddenly she lifted her little hand with a
gesture of warning. "Wait a minit--jest a minit--till the water runs
clear again."

The pool had become slightly discolored from the first washing.

"That makes no difference," he said quickly.

"Ah! but wait, please!" She laid her brown hand upon his arm; a pleasant
warmth seemed to follow her touch. Then she said joyously, "Look down
there."

"Where?" he asked.

"There--don't ye see it?"

"See what?"

"You and me!"

He looked where she pointed. The pool had settled, resumed its
mirror-like calm, and reflected distinctly,