"You're right there, stranger--I mean Mr. Crosby," said Gabe. "I'll come in. Can I wash up a bit? I've got considerable of the dirt of this county spread over my face and hands, only it isn't 'pay dirt.'" "What's 'pay dirt'?" asked Will "That, my boy, is what miners call dirt that has gold in it. Many a rocker full I've washed up. Sometimes I'd get a lot of the yellow dust, and, again I wouldn't make enough to buy my bacon. But it's all in the day's work." Mr. Crosby led his rather queer guest to a shed, where in the summer time the male members of the family washed in preparation for their meals. Mr. Harrison gave himself a vigorous scrubbing with the yellow soap, and polished his face on the coarse towel until his countenance fairly shone. He was a well preserved old man, with a ruddy complexion, that showed through his coating of tan. "Do you find gold mining pays?" asked Mr. Crosby, after the meal, when the gold-hunter had done full justice to the cooking of Mrs. Crosby and Nettie. "Yes, about as well as anything--farming, for instance. I suppose your business has its ups and downs." "Mostly downs. I declare, I never knew such hard times as we're having now! Not only me, but every farmer I know. This long dry spell is likely to have a bad effect on the country." "I believe you. We miners don't have it all our own way, either." "I thought you said you had dug plenty of gold," put in Jed, who, with his brother, was an interested listener. "So I did. But digging it and keeping it are two different things, young man." "Did you lose what you had?" asked Mr. Crosby, who had heard from his sons something of their guest's history. "I lost it--yes--in a way. I might as well tell you the story. It's not a very pleasant one. It goes to show that a man can be a pretty big fool when he tries real hard. That's not a very nice thing to say, but it's the truth." "How did it happen?" asked Will. "Well, as I've told you, I've been a gold miner for a number of years. I've prospected, or looked for gold, in many places in this country. And I've found my share of yellow nuggets in my time. "I made my last strike in Nevada. Where I was, nobody thought there was much but silver, but I was lucky enough to come upon a good gold lead, and the vein got bigger the farther I dug. Well, to make a long story short, I took out several thousand dollars in pure gold. Then I lost it." "Couldn't you find it again?" asked Nettie, who, with her brothers, was eagerly listening to the miner's story. "No, little miss, I couldn't, for I lost it by gambling." "Gambling!" exclaimed Mr. Crosby, for he and his wife were strict church people, and did not know much about the vices of the world. "That's the plain truth. Everybody out West gambles--that is, nearly everybody. There are some exceptions, of course, but I wasn't one. Very foolishly thought I could get something for nothing, and put up my money in a card game." "And you lost?" inquired Mrs. Crosby.