ithout their breakin' short off an'
lettin' him go spin into the lee-scuppers,--why wot then? a wise man's
course wos to take in all sail, an' scud before it under bare poles."

Next day all the miners in the colony were up and at work by dawn. Ned
and his friends, you may be sure, were not last to leave their beds and
commence digging in their separate claims, which they resolved to work
out by means of pan-washing, until they made a little ready cash, after
which they purposed constructing two rockers, and washing out the gold
more systematically and profitably.

They commenced by removing the surface-soil to the depth of about three
feet, a work of no small labour, until the subsoil, or "pay-dirt," was
reached. Of this they dug out a small quantity, and washed it; put the
produce of black sand and gold into leathern bags, and then, digging out
another panful, washed it as before. Thus they laboured till noon, when
they rested for an hour and dined. Then they worked on again until
night and exhaustion compelled them to desist; when they returned to
camp, dried and blew away the sand, weighed the gold, which was put
carefully into a general purse--named by Larry the "R'yal Bank o'
Calyforny"--after which they supped, and retired to rest.

The gold was found at various depths, the "dirt" on the bed-rock being
the richest, as gold naturally, in consequence of its weight, sinks
through all other substances, until arrested in its downward career by
the solid rock.

Of course, the labour was severe to men unaccustomed to the peculiar and
constant stooping posture they were compelled to adopt, and on the
second morning more than one of the party felt as if he had been seized
with lumbago, but this wore off in the course of a day or two.

The result of the second day was about equal to that of the first; the
result of the third a good deal better, and Bill, who was fortunate
enough to discover a small nugget, returned to camp with a
self-satisfied swagger that indicated elation, though his visage
expressed nothing but stolidity, slightly tinged with surprise. On the
fourth day the cradles were made, and a very large portion of their
gains thereby swept away in consequence of the unconscionable prices
charged for every article used in their construction. However, this
mattered little, Maxton said, as the increased profits of their labour
would soon repay the outlay. And he was right. On the fifth day their
returns