s not looking they gathered
up the leavings and even knocked off more for themselves. There had been
hungry times in the Blackwater district, and some of this quartz was
half gold.

An Indian wood-hauler came down from Wild Rose Spring with his wagon
filled with casks of water, and as he peddled his load at two-bits a
bucket the camp took on a new lease of life. Old Whiskers served a
chaser with each drink of whiskey; coffee was boiled and cooking began;
and all the drooping horses were banded together and driven up the
canyon to the spring. It was only nine miles, and the Indians would keep
on hauling, but already Wunpost had planned to put in a pipe-line and
make Willie Meena a town. He stood by Campbell's tent while the crowd
gathered about and related the history of his strike, and then he went
on with his plans for the mine and his predictions of boom times to
come.

"Just you wait," he said, bulking big in the moonlight; "you wait till
them Nevada boomers come. Things are dead over there--Keno and Wunpost
are worked out; they'll hit for this camp to a man. And when they come,
gentlemen, you want to be on your ground, because they'll jump anything
that ain't held down. Just wait till they see this ore and then watch
their dust--they'll stake the whole country for miles--but I've only got
one claim, and I'm going to stay on it, and the first man that jumps it
will get this."

He slapped the big pistol that he had borrowed from Wilhelmina and
nodded impressively to the crowd; and the next morning early he was over
at the hole, getting ready for the rush that was to come. For the news
of the strike had gone out from Blackwater on the stage of the evening
before, and the moment it reached the railroad it would be wired to Keno
and to Tonopah and Goldfield beyond. Then the stampede would begin, over
the hills and down into Death Valley and up Emigrant Wash to the
springs; and from there the first automobiles would burn up the ground
till they struck Wild Rose Canyon and came down. Wunpost got out a
hammer and drill, and as he watched for the rush he dug out more
specimens to show. Wilhelmina stood beside him, putting the best of them
into an ore-sack and piling the rest on the dump; and as he met her glad
smile he laid down his tools and nodded at her wisely.

"Big doings, kid," he said. "There's some rock that'll make 'em scream.
D'ye remember what I said about Dusty Rhodes? Well, maybe I didn't call
the turn--he