ore
(he had been a dry-goods clerk in Philadelphia); another would buy the
old Stuart place and get married; another would pay off a mortgage on
the old homestead, and so on.

"What would you do, Ben?" asked Bradley.

"I would go home by the next steamer, and buy Uncle Job the three-acre
lot he has been wanting so long, and buy new dresses for aunt and
Jennie. But it isn't much use forming plans till the nugget is found."

"That's so, Ben; but you are as likely to find it as the next man."

"I will hope for it, at any rate."

Though Ben's prospects were excellent, and he had met with unusual
success, his thoughts often wandered back to the quiet village where
the years of his boyhood had been chiefly passed. From time to time he
was disturbed by the thought that something might have happened to his
uncle's family, of whom he had heard little or nothing since he went
away. He afterward learned that letters had been sent which he had not
received. He was not exactly homesick, but he felt keenly the lack of
news from home.

In spite of this, however, he worked on with energy and industry. He
felt that every dollar he earned brought nearer the day when he would
feel justified in turning his back upon the gold-fields of California
and wending his homeward way to Hampton.

Meanwhile, Ben did not neglect to do what he could for the general
entertainment. It has already been mentioned that he could sing very
creditably, and his talent was very often called into requisition in the
evening. Ben was obliging, and, finding he could give pleasure, he
generally complied with the request of the miners and rehearsed such
songs as he knew, so that he was considered a decided acquisition by
the little company, and his popularity was unbounded.

"I've been thinkin', Ben," said Bradley, one Sunday when they were
taking a walk together, "that if there was any offices to be filled
you'd stand a good show of bein' elected."

"What makes you think so, Jake?"

"You're the most popular man in the camp--leastways, boy."

"I can easily believe that, Jake, as I am the only boy."

"Well, there's no one ahead of you, man or boy."

"I am glad if that is so," said Ben, modestly. "It is chiefly because I
am a boy."

"Boys are not always popular. It depends a good deal on the kind of
boy."

So the reader will get some idea of Ben's life at the mines and the
estimation in which he was held by his comrades. It was not very
exciting nor