tlas, and took from between
them a piece of blotting-paper, which through inordinate application
had acquired the color and consistency of a slate, and a few pages
of copy-book paper, that to the casual glance looked like sheets
of exceedingly difficult music. Surveying them with a blending of
chirographic pride, orthographic doubt, and the bashful consciousness of
a literary amateur, he traced each line with a forefinger inked to the
second joint, and slowly read aloud as follows:--

"'Mr. Ford, Teacher.

"'DEAR SIR,--Yours of the 12th rec'd and contents noted.'" ("I did'nt,"
explained Uncle Ben parenthetically, "receive any letter of yours, but I
thought I might heave in that beginning from copy for practice. The
rest is ME.") "'In refference to my having munney,"' continued Uncle Ben
reading and pointing each word as he read, "'and being able to buy Ditch
Stocks an' Land'"--

"One moment," said Mr. Ford interrupting, "I thought you were going to
leave out copy. Come to what you have to say."

"But I HEV--this is all real now. Hold on and you'll see," said Uncle
Ben. He resumed with triumphant emphasis:--

"'When it were gin'rally allowed that I haddent a red cent, I want to
explain to you Mister Ford for the first time a secret. This here is how
it was done. When I first came to Injian Spring, I settled down into
the old Palmetto claim, near a heap of old taillings. Knowin' it were
against rools, and reg'lar Chinyman's bizness to work them I diddn't
let on to enyboddy what I did--witch wos to turn over some of the quarts
what I thought was likely and Orrifferus. Doing this I kem uppon some
pay ore which them Palmetto fellers had overlookt, or more likely had
kaved in uppon them from the bank onknown. Workin' at it in od times by
and large, sometimes afore sun up and sometimes after sundown, and all
the time keeping up a day's work on the clame for a show to the boys, I
emassed a honist fortun in 2 years of 50,000 dolers and still am. But
it will be askd by the incredjulos Reeder How did you never let out
anything to Injian Spring, and How did you get rid of your yeald? Mister
Ford, the Anser is I took it twist a month on hoss back over to La
Port and sent it by express to a bank in Sacramento, givin' the name of
Daubigny, witch no one in La Port took for me. The Ditch Stok and the
Land was all took in the same name, hens the secret was onreviled to
the General Eye--stop a minit,'" he interrupted himself quickly