was washed
away, and nothing but a kind of black sand, in which the gold is usually
contained, remained at the bottom.

"There you are," cried the man, exultingly, lifting up a handful of the
heavy and shining mixture; "fifteen dollars at least in two shovelfuls.
I'll sell ye the claim, if ye like, for two hundred dollars."

"I would give it at once," said Ned, feeling at the moment deeply
troubled on account of his poverty; "but, to say truth, I have not a
farthing in the world."

A peculiar grin rested on the faces of the miners who looked on as he
spoke, but before he could inquire the cause, Tom Collins stepped
forward, and said:

"That's a first-rate claim of yours. What did ye say was your charge
for it?"

"Three hundred dollars down."

"I'll tell ye what," rejoined Tom, "I'll give you _six_ hundred dollars
for it, if you take out another shovelful of dirt like _that_!"

This remark was greeted by a general laugh from, the bystanders, which
was joined in by the Yankee himself as he leaped out of the hole, and,
shouldering his shovel, went off with his friends, leaving Ned and some
others of his party staring at each other in astonishment.

"What _does_ it all mean?" he inquired, turning to Tom Coffins, whose
laughing countenance shewed that he at least was not involved in
mystery.

"It means simply that we were all taken for green-horns, which was quite
a mistake, and that we were to have been thoroughly cheated--a
catastrophe which has happily been prevented. Maxton and I determined
to let the rascally fellow go as far as he could, and then step in and
turn the laugh against him, as we have done."

"But explain yourself. I do not yet understand," repeated Ned, with a
puzzled look.

"Why, the fact is, that when strangers arrive at the diggings, full of
excitement and expectation, there are always a set of sharpers on the
look-out, who offer to sell their claims, as they often say, `for a mere
song,' and in order to prove their worth, dig out a little dirt, and
wash it, as you have just seen done; taking care beforehand, however, to
mingle with it a large quantity of gold-dust, which, of course, comes to
light, and a bargain is generally struck on the spot, when the sharper
goes off with the price, and boasts of having `done' a green-horn, for
which he is applauded by his comrades. Should the fraud be detected
before the completion of the bargain, as in our case, he laughs with the
rest, and says