"Thank you," answered Mark, gratefully. "You are very kind, Mr. Socket." "I want to be neighborly, lad. Besides, you boys and Dixon have done us many favors an' I ain't forgetting them." Josiah Dixon and Mark spent the best part of the evening in picking out the things they wished to take along, including some coffee, tea, sugar and spices, besides the things mentioned above. They also got some cough mixture for one of the Socket children and a bottle of liquor for medicinal purposes. As luck would have it, not one of the men in camp at Four Monkeys was a hard drinker, for which both Mark and Josiah Socket were thankful. "Can't see how some fellers can spend all they have on liquor," said Socket. "I like an occasional glass, but that's all." "And I don't want any," answered Mark. "Well, I reckon as how you're jest as well off without it." But although Josiah Socket did not care for liquor, he loved his tobacco and took along two plugs of "tar heel," one for himself and one for Maybe Dixon, the plugs of a pound each costing two dollars. They spent the night in one of the cabins, that belonging to Abram Monkey's youngest brother, and at sunrise were all ready for the trip back to their own camp. "Wish you luck!" cried Abram Monkey, as they went away. "If you want any more supplies, call again." "We will," said Josiah Socket. "I've got to find some gold first," answered Mark, with a grin. "Well, you'll find it, my boy, as soon as the season opens. This land is full of dust and nuggets." They took to the trail by which they had come. There had been a light fall of snow during the night, covering their former tracks, but they remembered many of the landmarks, so had no fear of going astray. "How much did you spend, lad?" asked Josiah Socket, as they rode along. "Sixty-four dollars." "And I spent an even hundred. Putty expensive living, eh? But we'll be a heap sight more comfortable for the rest of the cold weather than we have been." "That is true--even if we didn't invest in luxuries," said Mark. "We can buy luxuries after we've gathered a little heap o' nuggets." "Mr. Socket, what do you really think of our prospects?" "Can't tell, Mark. One day I think we'll get rich, an' the next I think it was a fool move for me to pull up stakes an' come away out here." "I can hardly wait for spring to come--I am so anxious to try my luck." "I am the same way. But we have got to be patient." "Do you think we had better stay where we are, when the season opens?" "That will depend on the reports we hear. If we hear of a rich find in some nearby locality I think we had best go there." About noon it began to snow again, and then they hurried on faster than before, fearful of being storm-bound on the trail. They were on foot, the horses being packed with the supplies. The walking was not easy and both wished themselves once more at the cabins.