“It’s no go, I’m afraid,” he whispered to Beth. For answer she pressed his hand. He closed the gates and turned to Mundon. “Well,--it’s a failure. You needn’t tell me--I know it.” “Failure? No, ’tain’t a failure.” “Are you saying that to let me down easy?” “Before God, I ain’t! Why, boy, what you got tears in your eyes fur? Brace up and be a man!” “I’m trying to, Mundon.” Ben’s voice shook. “I dunno what’s this all about? Did you expect that there crucible’d be half-full of gold? Mebbe you thought ’twould be plumb full.” There was no reply. “Why, on a rough calculation, I reckon this undertakin’ ’s goin’ to come out all right.” “You mean that it’s going to pay?” “’Course I do. What ails you?” “It seems such a small quantity,” Ben faltered. “It’ll seem smaller yet, when it’s cast in a bar. I’ve got to melt this again to git it into shape. Besides, I reckon ’bout half of it’s silver.” “Silver! And silver’s worth only fifty cents an ounce!” Ben sat down on some lumber and gloomily watched Mundon melt the gold in a crucible. “Yes, so ’tis; but gold’s worth twenty dollars an ounce. Didn’t expect ’twould be all gold, did you? I’m a-figurin’ roughly on the tons of stuff you’ve got in sight and the amount of gold you’ve got out of one jiggerful, and--you’ve got a good thing all right, Ben. But you’re just like all kids,--beggin’ pardon,--onreasonable.” CHAPTER IX THE MYSTERIOUS CHINESE On the night following the first clean-up, Ben was awakened about midnight. He had been sleeping so heavily that for some minutes after awakening he did not realize where he was. Then the outlines of the rough walls of the room and the regular breathing of Mundon recalled him to his surroundings. He was too wide-awake to sleep again, and he reviewed the events of the day, and then fell to speculating upon the plans for the morrow. Suddenly he sat bolt upright, every faculty alert. There was a sound of stealthy footsteps in the outer room. Ben knew now the cause of his sudden awakening. Some one had entered the building, and was creeping about searching for--what? “The gold!” he instantly replied to the question. Ben knew that Mundon had placed the gold in a box underneath his bunk. There was so little of it as yet that this had been thought to be a sufficiently safe place. Should he awaken Mundon? It hardly seemed necessary. He crept from his bed and crossed the room to the door. The stealthy footsteps could be heard at intervals, as though the person constantly paused to listen. The noise appeared to come from the corner of the building in which the “jigger” was situated; and Ben concluded that the man was searching there for the gold. Feeling that he could keep quiet no longer, Ben grasped Mundon’s arm. “Hush!” he whispered. “Don’t speak! Some one’s out there--looking for the gold!” Mundon was thoroughly awake in an instant. Together they crept to the door. The noise suddenly ceased, and there followed a long interval of silence.