as well bid it good-by. I don't know that this nugget
is any relation to Elam's, but it looks to me that way; don't it to you?
And it seems so strange that it should come back here when it gets off a
certain distance. The poor fellow is out there now hunting for it, and
he may not show up this trip."

"That won't be anything new for Elam, will it?"

Uncle Ezra thought it would not. He might be a longer or shorter
distance from there, and if he didn't put in an appearance, it was no
matter; and, having got through with his talk, Uncle Ezra knocked the
ashes from his pipe and settled himself in an attitude of rest, while
Ben and I listened to the noise of the storm and thought of Elam's
strange history. The nugget belonged to him, and we hoped from the
bottom of our hearts that he would get it, although we made up our minds
that he would have a strange time in getting back to the fort with it
while there were so many desperate men waiting for him to recover it.
Suddenly Ben thought of something.

"Uncle Ezra, you didn't tell us how Elam's father came into possession
of that nugget in the first place," said he.

"Ask me something hard," replied the old frontiersman.

"Don't you know?"

"Nobody knows. We don't know whether it was hisn or he was just carrying
it for somebody. We only know it was there--at least Elam says so. We
only know that the robbers had it for years. There is a hiatus in the
history of the nugget, and nobody don't seem to know what became of it
in that time. We only know that them two Greasers had it and fought over
it, and that brings it up to two years ago. It's my opinion that there
will be another hiatus lasting for all time. At any rate it is worth
eight thousand dollars, and I believe it is the same one I took ten
chances on."

Uncle Ezra rolled over as if he intended to go to sleep, and once more
silence reigned in the cabin. Presently a deep snore coming from Ben's
way told me that he was fast losing consciousness, and I was left to
keep watch of the fire and listen to the howling of the storm outside.
While I was thinking how foolish Elam was to go on searching for that
nugget, when he might just as well have turned an honest sheep-herder,
and laid out a little of his strength in taking care of his woolly
companions instead of spending it all in wolfing, I, too, passed into
the land of dreams.

The next morning's sun (for the storm ceased shortly after midnight)
found us still upon o