_is_ goold," he said, on observing several specks of the
shining metal. As he dug deeper down, he struck upon a hard substance,
which, on being turned up, proved to be a piece of quartz, the size of a
hen's egg, in which rich lumps and veins of gold were embedded.

"May I niver!" shouted the Irishman, starting up, and throwing away his
pipe in his excitement, "av it isn't a nugget. Hooray! where's the
pick!"

Larry overturned the Chinaman, who sat in his way, darted into the tent
for his pick and shovel, and in five minutes was a foot down into the
earth.

He came upon a solid rock, however, much to his chagrin, a few inches
further down.

"Faix I'll tell ye what I'll do," he said, as a new idea struck him,
"I'll dig inside o' the tint. It 'll kape the sun an' the rain off."

This remark was made half to himself and half to Ah-wow, who, having
gathered himself up, and resumed his pipe, was regarding him with as
much interest as he ever regarded anything. As Ah-wow made no
objection, and did not appear inclined to volunteer an opinion, Larry
entered the tent, cleared all the things away into one corner, and began
to dig in the centre of it.

It was fortunate that he adopted this plan: first, because the rainy
season having now set in, the tent afforded him shelter; and secondly,
because the soil under the tent turned out to be exceedingly rich--so
much so, that in the course of the next few days he and the Chinaman dug
out upwards of a thousand dollars.

But the rains, which for some time past had given indubitable hints that
they meant to pay a long visit to the settlement, at last came down like
a waterspout, and flooded Larry and his comrade out of the hole. They
cut a deep trench round the tent, however, to carry off the water, and
continued their profitable labour unremittingly.

The inside of the once comfortable tent now presented a very remarkable
appearance. All the property of the party was thrust into the smallest
possible corner, and Larry's bed was spread out above it; the remainder
of the space was a yawning hole six feet deep, and a mound of earth
about four feet high. This earth formed a sort of breast-work, over
which Larry had to clamber night and morning in leaving and returning to
his couch. The Chinaman slept in his own little tent hard by.

There was another inconvenience attending this style of mining which
Larry had not foreseen when he adopted it, and which caused the tent of