ed. Or it might be the Feather, or
the Yuba. 'G. H.' of course means 'gold here'; it's the regular sign.
Six G. H.'s--one of 'em smudged. Huh! Yep, if I were you I'd try the
American River first; but you want to look mighty sharp. It's no great
feat in the gold fields to jump another fellow's claim, and even if you
get there ahead that other party's liable to be hot after you to oust
you."

"Charley and I'll defend our rights," said Mr. Adams, stanchly.

"Well," continued Mr. Grigsby, "if I'm around you can count on me. And
there'll be other men who won't be inclined to stand for skullduggery.
The diggin's will be put under law and order, after a bit, or else no
man's life or property will be safe for a day. But until then, look
out, and keep looking out."

"We will," assured Mr. Adams, nodding confidently at Charley, who
soberly nodded back.

"And if I were you," added the Fremonter, "I'd tuck those papers in a
safe place. Wouldn't leave them around anywhere. See?"

"I've been carrying them on my own person," explained Mr. Adams.

"The very place where anybody wanting them by hook or crook would look
first," said the Fremonter.

"Humph!" admitted Mr. Adams. "That's probably so." He looked about
thoughtfully. "But I don't know of a better place--'twouldn't do to
stick them anywhere in the cabin, or the baggage. Here!" he exclaimed,
struck with an idea. "What's the matter with Charley! Nobody would
suspect that a boy was in charge of valuables. Charley, you take these
and tuck them away on you where they'll be safe."

"Put them in your shoe--or in your bootleg when you wear boots,"
instructed Mr. Grigsby.

"What about night?" asked Charley.

"I'll tend to the nights," grimly said the Fremonter. "You might
change them to your pillow, nights, and they wouldn't be any safer and
you'd be apt to forget them. But my cot will be across the doorway,
nights, and I in it."

"Very good," approved Mr. Adams. And so Charley carried the papers in
his shoe.

For a week the _California_ sped on, over a smoothly rolling blue sea,
accompanied by the gulls and porpoises and the steady thumps of her
huge paddle-wheels. On the right, or east, the coastline was at first
high and mountainous, but soon became only a bluish line, across the
miles of water. The decks were hot, amidst this summer sea! Almost
every night there was a gorgeous sunset; yet even after sunset the
thermometer stood over eighty in the