"Bye-bye!" "See you later!" "We're bound for the mines. Where are you going?" "Want a tow?" And so forth, and so forth. Another boat was a suspiciously built yawl, which looked much like the boat in which Charley had slept, over the stern of the _California_. It held nine men, three of them in sailor costumes; and on the bows a name evidently had been scratched out. Rowing desperately, the men in it barely glanced up as the _Mary Ann_ passed. They appeared to be anxious to sheer off. "Here's a runaway, I'll bet my hat," exclaimed the captain of the _Mary Ann_, who happened to be standing near the Adams party. "It's a ship's boat, and those men row like sailors--let alone their clothes. They've taken French leave, for the mines. It's impossible to hold a crew, in San Francisco Bay. If they can't steal a boat they'll swim ashore and make their way on foot." Now down the river came a broad scow, made of rough planks, and steered by sweeps. As it passed, the men in it (who wore miners' costumes) waved their hands--and see; they held up gunny sacks and salt bags, stuffed full and heavy. "Just from the mines," they shouted. "Back from the land of gold. You're too late. We got it all." The sight of those fat, heavy sacks created intense excitement aboard the _Mary Ann_. The passengers rushed to the near rail; eyes bulged and voices volleyed in a chorus of questions--and several persons almost jumped overboard. "Where'd you get it?" "How much?" "There's more, isn't there?" "Wait a minute!" "Stop the ship, captain!" "Hey! Show us a handful!" Charley was as excited as anybody. Big sacks of gold! Think of that! Look at them! But the captain laughed, winking at Mr. Grigsby. "Sand, boys; sand," he drawled. "That's a trick of those up-river fellows. They load with bags of sand for ballast, and show them to the other crowd. Bah!" At this Charley felt better, although he did not begrudge anybody a sack of gold, if only there was enough left. The _Mary Ann_ made rather slow progress. The river, always broad and smooth, curved in mighty sweeping bends, so that sometimes the breeze was dead ahead. Then the _Mary Ann_ must tack and tack, gaining only a few yards in several hundred. At night she tied up, to a tree; and several of her passengers caught some fish from the rail. Charley tended a line, for a few minutes, and caught a cat-fish that weighed twenty pounds; he couldn't pull it in until his neighbor helped.