"The boy must come with us!" said Kirby, doggedly, unwilling to own himself beaten. "I've got something to say to that, stranger, and it's quickly said. Make yourselves scarce both of you, or you'll never know what hit you." He pulled from his girdle a six shooter, and pointed it at Kirby. The latter needed no second hint. He and Dan turned and walked away, muttering some ugly threats to which the two miners paid no heed. "Now, lad, we'll have some supper," said Rawson, "and look out for a good place to pass the night. I can't say much for your friends. They're about as ugly-looking knaves as I ever saw." "I agree with you," said Dean, heartily. "I hope I shall never see them again." CHAPTER XXXIV. SIX MONTHS AMONG THE MINES. Six months later among the hills in Gilpin County we find three old acquaintances. They are Ben Rawson, Ebenezer Jones, and Dean Dunham. Dean has grown taller and there is a healthy brown hue on his cheeks. His eyes are bright, and his look is cheerful. The three are sitting in front of a miner's cabin, resting after the fatigues of the day. "Have a pipe, Dean?" asks Rawson. "No, Ben; you know I don't smoke." "You're right, lad, no doubt, but I couldn't get along without it. Do you know, boys, it is just six months to-day since we came here, after our brief interview with Dean's friends. By the way, what are their names?" "Peter Kirby and Dan—I don't know his last name." "I wonder what has become of them. It is easy to tell what will befall them at last." "I hope I shall never set eyes on them again," said Dean, fervently. "Well, I won't just say that; I might like to meet them if they were about to receive their deserts." "Do you know how we stand, Rawson?" asked Eben Jones, taking the pipe from his mouth. "I was just figuring up, Eben, this afternoon, since you have made me treasurer. There's a little over three thousand dollars in the common fund." "A thousand dollars apiece." "Precisely. It isn't a bad showing, is it? What do you say to that, Dean? How old are you?" "Sixteen, but I am nearer seventeen." "There are not many boys of your age who are worth a thousand dollars." "I owe it to your kindness, Ben—yours and Eben's." "I don't admit that, Dean. You have worked hard for it." "But then I am only a boy, and yet you admit me to an equal partnership." "And we're glad to do it, Dean," said Rawson, warmly. "Isn't that so, Eben?" "You're talkin' for us both, Ben. The kid's been a great deal of company for us." "Besides, Dean, Eben and I have got ten thousand dollars between us in a bank in Denver, unless the bank's busted, which I haven't heard of. I say, Eben, old chap, I feel rich!" "I feel rich enough to go home," said Eben, after a thoughtful pause. "Would you mind if I did, Ben?" "I should mind so much, Eben, that I should probably go along too." "But that would be leaving Dean alone," objected Eben. "Perhaps he would like to make a trip East also."