warm friends.

Why, even Uncle Artemus, as if he knew enough to get in out of the wet
when it rained, came up, and wanted to congratulate the boy for having
won out, and found the mine his father had first set eyes on; but
Aleck had too many bitter feelings in connection with the artful
lawyer, and coolly turned his back on him.

Arrangements were soon made whereby the sheriff would go with Thad and
Aleck that very day to see the mine, and be a witness to the act
whereby the son of the first discoverer laid claim to the valuable
property. Then he said he would accompany Aleck to the city where the
legal part of the business must be completed.

He also declared he knew the very capitalist, a man who was the
essence of honor, and whom he would like to interest in the matter; so
Aleck expressed a wish to meet him, that some arrangements might be
quickly placed before his mother. His one thought seemed to be to get
the glorious news to that waiting little woman as soon as possible.
She had suffered enough, he declared; and please Heaven this would be
the end, so far as money could bring relief.

On the following morning, then, the sheriff left, with Aleck and the
guide keeping him company, and old Uncle Artemus "tagging on;" anxious
now to get back to Denver, and take up his legal business, since his
hopes of ever having a share in the newly-discovered silver mine were
crushed, wrecked by his own malicious actions toward his brother's
family. Had he done what was right in the premises, instead of
greedily wanting to grab the whole, as Aleck put it, Uncle Artemus
might have been the very capitalist needed to develop the mine; but no
one had any faith in him any longer.

Of course Thad took his scouts, and made a permanent camp there, about
where the three prospectors had started to settle down late on that
night, when the boys were coming out of the fissure in the rock. How
the others did laugh, again and again, when they heard all about the
fright given to Kracker and his companions, by the growls which Thad
and Aleck managed to emit.

Of course the big-horn hunters had come in before that other day was
much more than half done, and Smithy was proudly carrying the horns
that had belonged to _his_ quarry. He hardly seemed like the same
Smithy they had known so long. Why, he was a transformed boy in many
things, and even failed to brush off the dust some one pointed out to
him on his khaki garments. And when Smithy re