"Oh, it's not such an awful lot," replied Gabe, more calmly, as he scooped up the yellow grains. "You'll have to wash out a good many panfuls before you'll be rich at this rate. Let's see how Will's is going to pan out." He repeated the operation, and got more of the gold. The eyes of the two brothers shone with excitement, nor was Gabe altogether free from excitement, though it was an old story to him. "Come on, Will, let's clean up another panful," suggested Jed. "Hold on!" called Gabe. "Help me get camp in shape first. It'll soon be dark. That pay dirt will keep. It's been there a good many hundred years, and it isn't going to run away in the night." "Hadn't we better stake out a claim?" suggested Jed, who was rapidly becoming familiar with mining terms. "We'll prospect a bit more first," replied Gabe. "It may not pay us to remain here. No use cleaning up a little bit like this, when we can get big nuggets a bit further on." "But we're sure there's gold here," objected Jed, "and we don't know whether or not there's any further on." "Go slow," advised the old miner. "Come on, now, help me fix up the tent." The boys knew that Gabe's advice was good, and, though they felt a wild desire to remain digging gold, they realized that they must have a place to sleep, for it was getting cool at night, now that they were well up in the mountains. The boys were up early the next morning, and each one had washed a pan of gravel before breakfast. They obtained about a quarter of an ounce of gold each. "How much is it worth?" asked Jed eagerly. "Well," replied Gabe critically, "you've made about ten dollars between you this morning." "And last night?" "A little more. Say twenty-five dollars altogether." "Why, we'll soon be rich!" exclaimed Jed. "Maybe, if this gravel holds out," admitted Gabe. "But don't be too sure. I think it's only a surface mine, the gold having been washed down from some place higher up. Now get your breakfast and then we'll do some mining, until I can see what sort of a place we've struck." They washed several panfuls of dirt that morning. To Jed's disappointment on several occasions the result, after a careful washing and shaking, was only a few grains of the precious yellow stuff. Again they would get nearly half an ounce. "I think I'll make a rocker," said Gabe, at length. "We can do it faster then, and find out if this is going to pay." "What's a rocker?" asked Will. "I'll show you." From some pieces of a box, in which some of their camp stuff was packed, Gabe constructed a sort of rude cradle, on rockers. The bottom of the box, which was rather shallow, was covered with a number of cross sticks, nailed to it like the cleats on a gangplank.