"Straight goods," says Ag, "and I had to stand here and see them do it! The Golden Queen is all my fancy painted her. The second pass that ice-pick-faced mut made he brought up a chunk as big as a biscuit. 'Is that gold?' says he. 'Oh, yes!' says I. 'That's gold!' The truth come out of me before I thought--it knocked me to see that chunk. First time I ever made such a break--well--well. Why didn't it occur to me to try the taste of that piece of ground before I put in my flavouring? I was so d--d sure there wasn't $13 worth of metal in the whole twenty acres! Oh, Lord! Oh, Lord! To sprinkle a pocket that's near half gold with a little old pinch of dust, is one of them ridiculous and extravagant excesses my friend Shakespeare mentions! If there was a lily around here, I'd paint it, so's to go the whole hog." "What in the name of all the Mormon gods are we going to do?" says I. "Leave me think," he answers. And again he pulls his whiskers and whistles through his teeth. There came a horrible yell from the hole. Daggett held up what seemed like a yaller potato. "Hooray!" says he. "Ain't that a humming bird?" "You want to think quick," says I. "I feel something like murder rising in my veins." "By gosh!" says Ag, snapping his fingers. "I've got her! Come to, you son-of-a-gun. Come to!" "How's that?" I asked, not just tumbling exactly. "Come to!" says Ag. "Regain your scattered intelligence! How in blazes can I sell, then, without your consent?" "Right you are! I'm off!" says I. And with that I cut loose. "Help!" howls Aggy; "help!" The two fellers were too busy to want to stop, but after I sent a brace of rocks in their direction, they concluded it might be as well to quiet me first. Lord! How I did carry on! I gave Ag the wink and pulled for the creek, and it was not long before, with Aggy's help, in we all three went, kersock. They pulled me out and laid me on the bank, insensible. "He's dead, I reckon," says Daggett. "No," says Aggy, "I can feel his pulse beat, but it does seem to me there's a different look in his face somehow." Then I opened my eyes. "Why, Agamemnon," says I, "what am I doing here?" "Hush!" says he, "you ain't been well." "Dear me! You don't say!" And I rubbed my forehead with my hand. "But I feel all right now--have I been this way long?" "Nigh on to six months, Hy, old horse; ever since we hit it so rich on our claim--don't you remember about that?" "Certainly," says I. "It seems like yesterday; it's as clear--but who are these people?" Ag let on to be very much embarrassed. "Well," says he, "why--hunh--why--to tell you the truth, I thought I ought to get you out of the country, to where you could see an expensive doctor, and these are some folks I brought down to buy the claim--you being sick, you know!"