“I’ll light my lamp as soon as you get inside,” he said to them. “You see, if it was lit now the light would shine out when the door is open, and somebody might see you comin’ in; I don’t care for that. I’ve got to look out for my own health, gents.” He laughed in his easy way; then told them to stand still while he made sure the curtains were all drawn tight, and he could light his lamp. “You might crack some of my valuable furniture, if you should bark yer shins ag’inst it,” he explained further, laughing. The only furniture to be seen when the lamp was lighted were the stools and bed and the few belongings of the cabin. “How’s the prisoners?” was Gopher Gabe’s first question, when he was seated on one of the stools. “Fine as a fiddle--even Moses’ fiddle!” “I didn’t know but the Dutchman would rave round some.” “Well, he did, at first; but I argued the thing out with him.” “He didn’t seem to be open to argument?” “He changed his mind, when I told him if he wouldn’t take my argument any other way I’d open a hole in his head with a bullet and so get it in. That weakened him. Improved much in your marksmanship lately, Moses?” the Fool asked airily. “Ah, drop it!” the fiddler growled. “I ain’t heard that you have killed Buffalo Bill yet!” “That’s all righdt. But ve ditn’t come here for shoking.” “No?” “We come hyer to talk business,” said Gopher Gabe. “But first I’d like to look at them prisoners.” “Doubt my word, eh?” “No; I just want to see ’em.” “Right this way, then.” He took up the lamp. “Unless some of you gents have got the stub of a candle in your pockets, you will have to sit here in the dark,” he said, “or foller the procession.” They preferred to follow the procession. In the back room Uncle Sam stopped, and, with interest, showed them his furnace, blowpipe, and other things; also a lump of gold which he had laid on a shelf. “Kind o’ keerless, to lay gold round that way,” said Williams, eying the chunk greedily. “Mebby so. But we’re bound to be honest among ourselves, if not with other people; you see, I’m trustin’ you, in showin’ it.” “Where’d you git it--out of the rocky dirt back there?” asked Gopher Gabe, with a hoarse laugh. “That’s the result of the last hold-up I manipulated,” said Uncle Sam, with apparent pride. “There’s some nuggets, some gold dust, and the gold from four watches, melted down into that. As soon as the express office people git over their scare, I’m goin’ to ship it to my sister in ’Frisco, and tell the express people I got it out of my mine by my famous secret process.” “I reckon you ain’t got no sister!” said Williams. “I see that our friend Williams is inclined to be a scoffer; and scoffers never come to any good end. Get over it, Williams.” When he had shown them around the apartment and talked learnedly of his “secret process,” he was ready to go into the hidden room with them; the place that held his “mine.”