ently he returned to me.

"Say, partner, got any money?"

There was something frank and compelling in his manner, so that I
produced the few dollars I had left, and spread them before him.

"That's all my wealth," I said smilingly.

He divided it into two equal portions and returned one to me. He took a
note of the other, saying:

"All right, I'll settle up with you later on."

He went off with my money. He seemed to take it for granted I would not
object, and on my part I cared little, being only too eager to show I
trusted him. A few minutes later behold him seated at a card-table with
three rough-necked, hard-bitten-looking men. They were playing poker,
and, thinks I: "Here's good-bye to my money." It minded me of wolves and
a lamb. I felt sorry for my new friend, and I was only glad he had so
little to lose.

We were drawing in to Los Angeles when he rejoined me. To my surprise he
emptied his pockets of wrinkled notes and winking silver to the tune of
twenty dollars, and dividing it equally, handed half to me.

"Here," says he, "plant that in your dip."

"No," I said, "just give me back what you borrowed; that's all I want."

"Oh, forget it! You staked me, and it's well won. These guinneys took me
for a jay. Thought I was easy, but I've forgotten more than they ever
knew, and I haven't forgotten so much either."

"No, you keep it, please. I don't want it."

"Oh, come! put your Scotch scruples in your pocket. Take the money."

"No," I said obstinately.

"Look here, this partnership of ours is based on financial equality. If
you don't like my gate, you don't need to swing on it."

"All right," said I tartly, "I don't want to."

Then I turned on my heel.

CHAPTER V

On either side of us were swift hills mottled with green and gold, ahead
a curdle of snow-capped mountains, above a sky of robin's-egg blue. The
morning was lyric and set our hearts piping as we climbed the canyon. We
breathed deeply of the heady air, exclaimed at sight of a big bee ranch,
shouted as a mule team with jingling bells came swinging down the trail.
With cries of delight we forded the little crystal stream wherever the
trail plunged knee-deep through it. Higher and higher we climbed, mile
after mile, our packs on our shoulders, our hearts very merry. I was as
happy as a holiday schoolboy, willing this should go on for ever,
dreading to think of the grim-visaged toil that awaited us.

About midday we reached the end