n a
few rods from them in the path by which they had entered. Some of them
sat so as to recline against the rock that rose above them, whilst
others leaned in thoughtful mood against a cluster of bushes that were
entwined with the wild grape, forming a strong but easy support. Jane
was pulling up the ferns and wild flowers, and as they drooped in her
hand threw them aside and gathered fresh ones until there were no more
in her reach; then her eye becoming attracted by some rich, green
mosses, she gathered them, when among the black earth from which they
were taken something gleamed bright and distinct from everything around
it. Sidney, who was nearest her, regarding her with a sorrowful look,
was the first one attracted by its glitter, and being undecided what it
was, called the attention of Howe to it.

"It is gold!" cried the trapper, after closely examining the tiny flake
Sidney had placed in his hand.

"Gold! let me see it," they all cried. "Is gold always found in that
shape?" queried Edward.

"Not always," he replied. "Sometimes it is imbedded in the rocks, and
has to be dug out by blasting; while, at others, it comes in globules,
called nuggets, often of great value."

"Perhaps there is more around here; let us see," said the trapper, and
taking a stick he dug among the soft earth, when, lo! it was speckled
with the precious ore.

The sentinel seeing them gathering up the glittering scales with great
eagerness, came forward, and with his hatchet struck a few heavy blows
against a fragment that projected from a fissure in the rock, when it
split from the solid mass, and revealed the precious ore, intermixed
with quartz rock; then turning away with disdain, left them to amuse
themselves, and took up his former position in the pathway.

"We can gather as much as we please; and if we have the good luck to
escape the vigilance of these demons, we shall be rich," said Sidney.

"It is something, at least to have made the discovery. These mountains,
I judge from the fragment broken, must be full of ore?" said the
trapper.

"The Indians," said Whirlwind, "say there are stones still farther
towards the setting sun that give light like stars, and glitter in
their bed with a hundred fires; but they are never seen in these
hunting grounds. All through the mountains these are to be found in
abundance," said he, pointing to the gold that lay glittering in the
earth.

"You never told me of this before, Whirlwind," sa