Why, even Uncle Artemus, as if he knew enough to get in out of the wet when it rained, came up, and wanted to congratulate the boy for having won out, and found the mine his father had first set eyes on; but Aleck had too many bitter feelings in connection with the artful lawyer, and coolly turned his back on him. Arrangements were soon made whereby the sheriff would go with Thad and Aleck that very day to see the mine, and be a witness to the act whereby the son of the first discoverer laid claim to the valuable property. Then he said he would accompany Aleck to the city where the legal part of the business must be completed. He also declared he knew the very capitalist, a man who was the essence of honor, and whom he would like to interest in the matter; so Aleck expressed a wish to meet him, that some arrangements might be quickly placed before his mother. His one thought seemed to be to get the glorious news to that waiting little woman as soon as possible. She had suffered enough, he declared; and please Heaven this would be the end, so far as money could bring relief. On the following morning, then, the sheriff left, with Aleck and the guide keeping him company, and old Uncle Artemus "tagging on;" anxious now to get back to Denver, and take up his legal business, since his hopes of ever having a share in the newly-discovered silver mine were crushed, wrecked by his own malicious actions toward his brother's family. Had he done what was right in the premises, instead of greedily wanting to grab the whole, as Aleck put it, Uncle Artemus might have been the very capitalist needed to develop the mine; but no one had any faith in him any longer. Of course Thad took his scouts, and made a permanent camp there, about where the three prospectors had started to settle down late on that night, when the boys were coming out of the fissure in the rock. How the others did laugh, again and again, when they heard all about the fright given to Kracker and his companions, by the growls which Thad and Aleck managed to emit. Of course the big-horn hunters had come in before that other day was much more than half done, and Smithy was proudly carrying the horns that had belonged to _his_ quarry. He hardly seemed like the same Smithy they had known so long. Why, he was a transformed boy in many things, and even failed to brush off the dust some one pointed out to him on his khaki garments. And when Smithy reached a point that he could ignore such things, there must surely be a great transformation taking place in his make-up. He was brim-full of questions now, eager to learn the thousand-and-one wrinkles of woodcraft, and expressing his determination to accomplish wonderful things before many months had passed.