eft Old Whiskers to recoup his losses and turned to
the wide-eyed Wilhelmina. She had been standing, rooted to the earth,
while he assaulted Old Whiskers and Rhodes; and as she glanced up at him
doubtfully he winked and grinned back at her and spoke from behind the
cover of his hand.

"That's the system!" he said. "Git the jump on 'em--treat 'em rough!
Come on, let's go look at our mine!"

He led the way to Black Point, where the bonanza vein of quartz came
down and was buried in the sand; and while the crowd gazed from afar
they looked over their property, though Billy moved like one in a dream.
Her father was engaged in placating Dusty Rhodes and in explaining their
agreement to the rest, and she still felt surprised that she had ever
consented to accompany so desperate a ruffian. Yet as he knocked off a
chunk of ore and showed her the specks of gold, scattered through it
with such prodigal richness, she felt her old sense of security return;
for he had never been rough with her. It was only with Old Whiskers, the
grasping Blackwater saloon-keeper, and with the equally avaricious Dusty
Rhodes--who had been trying to steal more than their share of the
prospect and to beat her out of her third. They had thought to ignore
her, to brush her aside and usurp her share in the claim; but Wunpost
had defended her and protected her rights and put them back where they
belonged. And it was for this that he had seized Dusty Rhodes by the
throat and kicked down the saloon-keeper's bar. But she wondered what
would happen if, at some future time, she should venture to oppose his
will.

The vein of quartz which had caught Wunpost's eye was enclosed within
another, not so rich, and a third mighty ledge of low-grade ore encased
the two of them within its walls. This big dyke it was which formed the
backbone of the point, thrusting up through the half-eroded porphyry;
and as it ran up towards its apex it was swallowed and overcapped by the
lava from the old volcanic cone.

"Look at that!" exclaimed Wunpost, knocking off chunk after chunk; and
as a crowd began to gather he dug down on the richest streak, giving the
specimens to the first person who asked. The heat beat down upon them
and Campbell called Wilhelmina to the shelter of his makeshift tent, but
on the ledge Wunpost dug on untiringly while the pocket-miners gathered
about. They knew, if he did not, the value of those rocks which he
dispensed like so much dirt, and when he wa