ith its spreading branches and sweet-smelling
cones, and carpet of moss below, is a much more fitting spot."

"Now, who is to decide the question if I don't give in, Tom? For I
assume, of course, that you will never give in."

At that moment an accident occurred which decided the question for them.
It frequently happens that some of the huge, heavy branches of the oaks
in America become so thoroughly dried and brittle by the intense heat of
summer, that they snap off without a moment's warning, often when there
is not a breath of air sufficient to stir a leaf. This propensity is so
well-known to Californian travellers that they are somewhat careful in
selecting their camping ground, yet, despite all their care, an
occasional life is lost by the falling of such branches.

An event of this kind occurred at the present time. The words had
barely passed Ned's lips, when a large limb of the oak beside which they
stood snapt off with a loud report, and fell with a crash to the ground.

"That settles it," said Tom, somewhat seriously, as he led his horse
towards the pine-tree, and proceeded to spread his blanket beneath its
branches.

In a few minutes the bright flame of their camp-fire threw a lurid glare
on the trees and projecting cliffs of the wild pass, while they cooked
and ate their frugal meal of jerked beef and biscuit. They conversed
little during the repast or after it, for drowsiness began to steal over
them, and it was not long before they laid their heads, side by side, on
their saddles, and murmuring "Good-night," forgot their troubles in the
embrace of deep, refreshing slumber.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

A CURIOUS AND VALUABLE DRAUGHT--LYNCH LAW APPLIED--BLACK JIM'S
CONFESSION--NED BECOMES A PAINTER, AND FINDS THE PROFESSION PROFITABLE
AS WELL AS AMUSING--THE FIRST PORTRAIT.

Next morning the travellers were up and away by daybreak, and in the
afternoon they came upon a solitary miner who was prospecting in a gulch
near the road-side.

This word gulch is applied to the peculiarly abrupt, short ravines,
which are a characteristic feature in Californian more than in any other
mountains. The weather was exceedingly hot, and the man took off his
cap and wiped his streaming brow as he looked at the travellers who
approached him.

"Ha! you've got water there, I see," cried Tom Collins, leaping off his
horse, seizing a cup which stood on the ground full of clear water, and
draining it eagerly.

"Stop!