“Mein chilt is dere, und you shall not keep me from her!” said Morris, with a white, set face; and then, for the first time in his life, Morris Goldberg was fighting, but this was for his child. He had no thought of danger, but sprang at John’s throat. They struggled with great ferocity. John had not expected to find such strength in the arms of the old man, and had all he could do to ward off the strangling fingers, but he managed to free himself from their grasp and call “Dopey! at him!” Then the shoemaker sprang, with his back to the rocky side of his tunnel, after having seized a pick. This he flourished, saying: “The first one dot moves, I vill brain!” Loney heard the noise of the conflict and crept softly from the tent, and, seeing in what danger his friend was, started away in the hope of bringing aid. Dopey waited for no further orders, but fired his pistol at Morris who ducked and the ball went wide of its mark, and higher. It struck the big rock they had pried loose, and the sudden impact of the ball caused it to recoil and then topple down with a great crash. It rolled on down until it settled solidly at the very feet of John Pierson, who gave it one look and then said: “Well! by---- That rock is seamed with gold! He has struck it rich, like all fools. He must have the deed to this claim. Upon him! at him, Dopey!” But Dopey had fired his only shot and could not get near enough, on account of that deadly pickaxe which Morris would surely use, as he was worked up to a pitch where he had thrown his usual prudence to the winds. He said, while the full extent of his good fortune began to dawn upon his rather slow intelligence: “I haf not de deet, und, if I hat, I vould die pefore I vould gif it to you!” Dopey reached around and took possession of one of John’s revolvers and aimed at Morris when John, feeling sure of their superiority over the lonely man, said: “Don’t shoot, Dopey! Don’t kill him! If he hasn’t the deed on him, we’ll make him tell where it is. We must take him alive. Come on!” Both of the scoundrels sprang at Morris, whose mind was bewildered by the simultaneous attack, and he wavered, so that Dopey managed to strike him over the head with a slung-shot, which caused the unfortunate man to fall, groaning and helpless, to the ground! “Ah, now we have him,” said John, “and we’ll take him to the hut and torture him to death by inches until he gives us the deed to this mine of gold!” CHAPTER XIII.