"Well, you need cleaning up, all right," asserted George. "Reckon you'd better not let your mother see you in _those_ clothes! She'd have a fit." "Aw, we old miners all dress like this," retorted Terry. "It's only tenderfeet who fix up." "Nobody'd take you for a millionaire, that's sure," scoffed George. "Say!" he added. "You sold Duke, didn't you? I saw him in a show, there at Denver--or Auraria, I mean, but it's all the same thing. What'd you do that for? They're going to match him with a bear as soon as they can find the bear--have a fight!" "Oh, shucks!" deplored Terry. "Did you see Thunder Horse's head, too?" "Was that Thunder Horse? Didn't look like him now! Where'd they get his head? Thought Pine Knot Ike had it. You said so in your letter." "Yes, he did have it on the trail. But Mr. O'Reilly bought it for the show. And Pine Knot Ike's in here. He's with a gang not very far from us." "I don't like Thunder Horse, and I'm hungry," piped Virgie. "We'll have something to eat in a jiffy," comforted Terry. "There's the cabin." "Which one?" queried George. "That one with the sign on. See? On that little rise." "What does the sign say--'Pike's Peak Limited'? Or 'The Golden Prize'?" urged George. "'Golden Prize Mine,' I bet." "I see Harry! We're going to s'prise Harry," rejoiced Virgie. That seemed evident, for Harry was sitting against the cabin wall, under the sign, and busily engaged. "He's panning gold, isn't he?" exclaimed George, excited. "Naw," said Terry, weakly. "He's panning dough, I reckon." "Oh, look!" cried Virgie. For Harry had sprung up at the approach of another man around the corner of the cabin--was telling him to get out--the man would not go--jumped for Harry--got the pan of dough square on the head--and they closed and swayed, wrestling. Shep appeared, to circle and bark and snap. Virgie screamed. "That's Pine Knot Ike!" gasped Terry, jumping forward. And George, dropping pick and spade and ducking from his blanket roll, fairly streaked it, shouting and flourishing his wooden-hammer revolver. He easily beat Terry. Suddenly Pine Knot Ike went staggering from one of Harry's clever trips, and saw George and the big revolver. Away he lunged, legging it and making an odd sight with his head and shoulders plastered by dough, and Shep nipping at his trousers' seat. "You'd better get," threatened George, pursuing, "or I'll shoot you into little bits!" Harry quickly drew back his arm and threw--the piece of rock struck Ike between the shoulders. Whereupon, as if thinking that he really had been shot, Ike uttered a loud yelp, gave a prodigious leap, and legged faster. "Bang!" shouted George. When Terry and Virgie arrived, George was returning, considerably swelled up with the triumph of his wooden-hammer gun, and Harry was laughing. "There go four dollars' worth of dough and my pocket piece. Howdy, Virgie? Hello, George! Much obliged. Where are the other folks?" "They're down at Cherry Creek. We came----"