of exposing himself in his glory to the curious eyes of the wayfaring
world.
Unhappily the road was deserted in the still powerful sunlight, and he
was obliged to seek the cover of the woods, with a passing compliment to
the parent of his charges. Waving his hands towards the flume, he
said, "Look at that work of your father's; there ain't no other man in
Californy but Philip Carr ez would hev the grit to hold up such a bluff
agin natur and agin luck ez that yer flume stands for. I don't say it
'cause you're his daughters, ladies! That ain't the style, ez YOU know,
in sassiety, Miss Carr," he added, turning to Christie as the more
socially experienced. "No! but there ain't another man to be found
ez could do it. It cost already two hundred thousand; it'll cost five
hundred thousand afore it's done; and every cent of it is got out of the
yearth beneath it, or HEZ got to be out of it. 'Tain't ev'ry man, Miss
Carr, ez hev got the pluck to pledge not only what he's got, but what he
reckons to git."
"But suppose he don't get it?" said Christie, slightly contracting her
brows.
"Then there's the flume to show for it," said Dick.
"But of what use is the flume, if there isn't any more gold?" continued
Christie, almost angrily.
"That's good from YOU, miss," said Dick, giving way to a fit of
hilarity. "That's good for a fash'nable young lady--own daughter of
Philip Carr. She sez, says she," continued Dick, appealing to the sedate
pines for appreciation of Christie's rare humor, "'Wot's the use of a
flume, when gold ain't there?' I must tell that to the boys."
"And what's the use of the gold in the ground when the flume isn't there
to work it out?" said Jessie to her sister, with a cautioning glance
towards Dick.
But Dick did not notice the look that passed between the sisters. The
richer humor of Jessie's retort had thrown him into convulsions of
laughter.
"And now SHE says, wot's the use o' the gold without the flume? 'Xcuse
me, ladies, but that's just puttin' the hull question that's agitatin'
|