found slumber.

But when Uncle Billy awoke the next morning he saw it was late; for
the sun, piercing the crack of the closed door, was sending a pencil of
light across the cold hearth, like a match to rekindle its dead embers.
His first thought was of his strange luck the night before, and of
disappointment that he had not had the dream of divination that he had
looked for. He sprang to the floor, but as he stood upright his
glance fell on Uncle Jim's bunk. It was empty. Not only that, but his
BLANKETS--Uncle Jim's own particular blankets--WERE GONE!

A sudden revelation of his partner's manner the night before struck him
now with the cruelty of a blow; a sudden intelligence, perhaps the very
divination he had sought, flashed upon him like lightning! He glanced
wildly around the cabin. The table was drawn out from the wall a little
ostentatiously, as if to catch his eye. On it was lying the stained
chamois-skin purse in which they had kept the few grains of gold
remaining from their last week's "clean up." The grains had been
carefully divided, and half had been taken! But near it lay the little
memorandum-book, open, with the stick of pencil lying across it. A deep
line was drawn across the page on which was recorded their imaginary
extravagant gains and losses, even to the entry of Uncle Jim's half
share of the claim which he had risked and lost! Underneath were
hurriedly scrawled the words:--

"Settled by YOUR luck, last night, old pard.--JAMES FOSTER."

It was nearly a month before Cedar Camp was convinced that Uncle Billy
and Uncle Jim had dissolved partnership. Pride had prevented Uncle Billy
from revealing his suspicions of the truth, or of relating the events
that preceded Uncle Jim's clandestine flight, and Dick Bullen had gone
to Sacramento by stage-coach the same morning. He briefly gave out that
his partner had been called to San Francisco on important business of
their own, that indeed might necessitate his own removal there later. In
this he was singularly assisted by a letter from the absent Jim, dated
at San Francisco, begging him not to be anxious about his success, as he
had hopes of presently entering into a profitable business, but with no
further allusions to his precipitate departure, nor any suggestion of
a reason for it. For two or three days Uncle Billy was staggered and
bewildered; in his profound simplicity he wondered if his extraordinary
good fortune that night had made him deaf to som