eneral" Nix, who was up and dressed, and
held a torch in his hand.

"Come! come!" he said in a husky whisper, and a glance convinced Harry
that he was still asleep, although his eyes were wide open and
staring.

Without a word the young man leaped from bed, donned his garments, and
the old man then led the way out of the cabin.

In passing through the kitchen, Redburn saw that Anita was up and
waiting.

"Come!" he said, seizing a hatchet and stake, "we are about to
discover the gold-mine, and our fortunes;" with a merry laugh.

Then both followed in the wake of the sleep walker, and were led to
near the center of the valley, which was but a few steps in the rear
of the cabin. Here was a bed of sand washed there from an overflow of
the stream, and at this the "General" pointed, as he came to a halt.

"There! _there_ is the gold--millions of it deep down--twenty or
thirty feet--in sand--easy to get! dig! DIG! DIG!"

Redburn marked the spot by driving the stake in the ground.

It now only remained to dig in the soil to verify the truth of the old
man's fancy.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote A: A fact.]

CHAPTER VII.

DEADWOOD DICK ON THE ROAD.

Rumbling noisily through the black canyon road to Deadwood, at an hour
long past midnight, came the stage from Cheyenne, loaded down with
passengers, and full five hours late, on account of a broken shaft,
which had to be replaced on the road. There were six plunging,
snarling horses attached, whom the veteran Jehu on the box, managed
with the skill of a circusman, and all the time the crack! snap! of
his long-lashed gad made the night resound as like so many pistol
reports.

The road was through a wild tortuous canyon, fringed with tall
spectral pines, which occasionally admitted a bar of ghostly moonlight
across the rough road over which the stage tore with wild
recklessness.

Inside, the vehicle was crammed full to its utmost capacity, and
therefrom emanated the strong fumes of whisky and tobacco smoke, and
stronger language, over the delay and the terrible jolting of the
conveyance.

In addition to those penned up inside, there were two passengers
positioned on top, to the rear of the driver, where they clung to the
trunk railings to keep from being jostled off.

One was an elderly man, tall in stature and noticeably portly, with a
florid countenance, cold gray eyes, and hair and beard of brown,
freely mixed with silvery threads. He was elegantly attired,