"Into that Ditch," continued Zenobia, ignoring the interruption. "It's
his mother, it's his sweetheart, it's his everything! When other chaps
of his age was cavortin' round Frisco, and havin' high jinks, Ned was in
his Ditch. 'Wait till the Ditch is done,' he used to say. 'Wait till she
begins to boom, and then you just stand round.' Mor'n that, he got all
the boys to put in their last cent--for they loved Ned, and love him
now, like ez ef he wos a woman."

"That's so," said Clinch and Rawlins simultaneously, "and he's worth
it."

"Well," continued Zenobia, "the Ditch didn't boom ez soon ez they
kalkilated. And then the boys kept gettin' poorer and poorer, and Ned
he kept gettin' poorer and poorer in everything but his hopefulness and
grit. Then he looks around for more capital. And about this time, that
coyote Harkins smelt suthin' nice up there, and he gits Ned to give him
control of it, and he'll lend him his name and fix up a company. Soon ez
he gets control, the first thing he does is to say that it wants half a
million o' money to make it pay, and levies an assessment of two hundred
dollars a share. That's nothin' for them rich fellows to pay, or pretend
to pay, but for boys on grub wages it meant only ruin. They couldn't
pay, and had to forfeit their shares for next to nothing. And Ned made
one more desperate attempt to save them and himself by borrowing money
on his shares; when that hound Harkins got wind of it, and let it be
buzzed around that the Ditch is a failure, and that he was goin' out
of it; that brought the shares down to nothing. As Ned couldn't raise
a dollar, the new company swooped down on his shares for the debts THEY
had put up, and left him and the boys to help themselves. Ned couldn't
bear to face the boys that he'd helped to ruin, and put out, and ain't
been heard from since. After Harkins had got rid of Ned and the boys
he manages to pay off that wonderful debt, and sells out for a hundred
thousand dollars. That money--Ned's money--he sends to Sacramento, for
he don't dare to travel with it himself, and is kalkilatin' to leave the
kentry, for some of the boys allow to kill him on sight. So ef you're
wantin' to hunt suthin', thar's yer chance, and you needn't go inter the
snow to do it."

"But surely the law can recover this money?" said Hale indignantly. "It
is as infamous a robbery as--" He stopped as he caught Zenobia's eye.

"Ez last night's, you were goin' to say. I'll call it MORE.