l 'em?"

"I want some myself, but I'll sell you three of them."

"How much?"

"Fifteen dollars."

"Give 'em to me."

The first purchaser grinned openly at our companion.

The latter followed into the nearest store to get his share of the dust
weighed out. His face wore a very thoughtful expression.

We came shortly to the Plaza, since called Portsmouth Square. At that
time it was a wind-swept, grass-grown, scrubby enough plot of ground. On
all sides were permanent buildings. The most important of these were a
low picturesque house of the sun-dried bricks known as adobes, in which,
as it proved, the customs were levied; a frame two-story structure known
as the Parker House, and a similar building labelled "City Hotel." The
spaces between these larger edifices was occupied by a dozen or so of
smaller shacks. Next door to the Parker House stood a huge flapping
tent. The words _El Dorado_ were painted on its side.

The square itself was crowded with people moving to and fro. The solid
majority of the crowd consisted of red or blue shirted miners; but a
great many nations and frames of minds seemed to be represented. Chinese
merchants, with red coral buttons atop their stiff little skullcaps,
wandered slowly, their hands tucked in capacious sleeves of the richest
brocade. We had seen few of this race; and we looked at them with the
greatest interest, examining closely their broad bland faces, the
delicate lilacs and purples and blues of their rich costumes, the
swaying silk braided queues down their backs. Other Chinese, of the
lower castes, clad in blue canvas with broad bowl-shaped hats of straw
on their heads, wormed their way through the crowd balancing baskets at
the ends of poles. Rivalling the great Chinese merchants in their
leisure, strolled the representatives of the native race, the Spanish
Californians. They were darkly handsome men, dressed gloriously in short
velvet jackets, snowy ruffles, plush trousers flaring at the bottom, and
slit up the side of the leg, soft leather boots, and huge spurs
ornamented with silver. They sauntered to and fro smoking brown-paper
cigarettos. Beside these two, the Chinese and the Californians, but one
other class seemed to be moving with any deliberation. These were men
seen generally alone, or at most in pairs. They were quiet, waxy pale,
dressed always neatly in soft black hat, white shirt, long black coat,
and varnished boots. In the face of a general gabble they seem