a low, brown cottage,
planted close against the hill, and overhung by the foliage and peeling
boughs of a madrona thicket. Within it was full of dead leaves and
mountain dust, and rubbish from the mine. But we soon had a good fire
brightly blazing, and sat close about it on impromptu seats. Chuchu, the
slave of sofa cushions, whimpered for a softer bed; but the rest of us
were greatly revived and comforted by that good creature--fire, which
gives us warmth and light and companionable sounds, and colours up the
emptiest building with better than frescoes. For awhile it was even
pleasant in the forge, with the blaze in the midst, and a look over our
shoulders on the woods and mountains where the day was dying like a
dolphin.

It was between seven and eight before Hanson arrived, with a waggonful
of our effects and two of his wife's relatives to lend him a hand. The
elder showed surprising strength. He would pick up a huge packing-case,
full of books, of all things, swing it on his shoulder, and away up the
two crazy ladders and the breakneck spout of rolling mineral, familiarly
termed a path, that led from the cart-track to our house. Even for a man
unburthened, the ascent was toilsome and precarious; but Irvine scaled
it with a light foot, carrying box after box, as the hero whisks the
stage child up the practicable footway beside the waterfall of the fifth
act. With so strong a helper, the business was speedily transacted. Soon
the assayer's office was thronged with our belongings, piled
higgledy-piggledy, and upside down, about the floor. There were our
boxes, indeed, but my wife had left her keys in Calistoga. There was the
stove, but, alas! our carriers had forgot the chimney, and lost one of
the plates along the road. The Silverado problem was scarce solved.

Rufe himself was grave and good-natured over his share of blame; he
even, if I remember right, expressed regret. But his crew, to my
astonishment and anger, grinned from ear to ear, and laughed aloud at
our distress. They thought it "real funny" about the stovepipe they had
forgotten; "real funny" that they should have lost a plate. As for hay,
the whole party refused to bring us any till they should have supped.
See how late they were! Never had there been such a job as coming up
that grade! Nor often, I suspect, such a game of poker as that before
they started. But about nine, as a particular favour, we should have
some hay.

So they took their departure,