Nugget came out of the tent. He rubbed against Father John’s boots.

  “He likes you,” said Frank.

  Someone began to shout. Something furry and brown came running down the street.

  “It’s a bear!” cried Ellen.

  All the hair stood up on Nugget’s back. He ran and climbed high into a pine tree.

  The bear went past the tent. A man ran after him. “Come back here!” he shouted.

  “Don’t be afraid,” said Father John. “That was Pete Smith and his pet bear. Sometimes the bear runs away.”

  Frank went across the street. He called up the pine tree, “Nugget! You can come down now.”

  Nugget looked down and said, “Meow!”

  People came running and stood under the tree. “It’s a cat,” they said. “It’s a cat up there!”

  “Come down, Nugget!” said Frank.

  “He never climbed a tree before,” said Ellen. “He doesn’t know how to get down.”

  A woman came through the crowd. She wore a pink dress and a pink bonnet. Everybody looked at her. “Is there a cat up there?” she asked.

  “Yes,” said Ellen. “He is our cat. We don’t know how to get him down.”

  Pete Smith came back up the street. He had caught his pet bear. He was leading it by a rope.

  “Look what you did,” someone said to him. “You scared the cat up the tree.”

  “Did I do that?” said Pete Smith. “I’ll bring him down, if someone will hold my bear.”

  Someone held the bear. Pete Smith took off his boots. He climbed up the tree just like a squirrel.

  “Here, kitty, kitty,” he said. Everyone laughed and shouted when he picked up the cat and brought him down.

  Frank and Ellen took Nugget back to the tent. Father John went with them. The woman in the pink dress went with them, too.

  Father John knew her. He called her Miss Polly.

  “What are you doing in town?” he asked.

  “I came up from the city to see my brother. I have to go back tomorrow.” She said to Frank and Ellen, “Will you sell me your cat?”

  “Oh, no!” said Ellen.

  “If you only knew how I want a cat!” said Miss Polly. “There aren’t enough cats in California, and everybody wants one.”

  “What for?” asked Frank.

  “To keep the rats and mice away,” said Miss Polly. “I have a hotel in the city. The rats and mice run all over it. A good cat would keep them away.”

  “We can’t sell Nugget,” said Frank.

  “No,” said Ellen. “We brought him all the way from Missouri.”

  “If you ever do want to sell him, let me know,” said Miss Polly. “Good-by. Good-by, Father John.”

  She went away.

  “Isn’t she pretty?” said Ellen.

  “Yes,” said Father John. “She’s rich, too.”

  “But we couldn’t sell our cat,” said Frank.

  “Of course, you couldn’t,” said Father John. “Bring him to see me some day. I live in the little house by the river.”

  He went down the street.

  “I like Father John,” said Ellen.

  “So do I,” said Frank. “I hope we’ll see him again.”

  With My Pick and My Shovel and My Pan

  V

  Gold

  In the morning Frank and his father went out to look for gold. Frank took a pan. His father took a pick and shovel.

  Men were digging by the river.

  “Is it all right if we dig here, too?” asked Mr. Davis.

  “Yes,” said one of the men, “if you can find a place.”

  They found a place where no one was working. Frank dug up some dirt with the pick. His father took it up in the shovel and put it into the pan.

  He sat on a rock by the river. Frank stood close to him while he filled the pan with water.

  Mr. Davis stirred the dirt until it was soft. He held the pan under the water and the mud washed away.

  “Now only rocks are left,” he said. “If there is gold, it will be under the rocks, in the bottom of the pan.”

  “Why?” asked Frank.

  “Because the gold is so heavy,” his father told him. “It is heavier than the sand or rocks.”

  “Do you think there is gold in this pan?” asked Frank.

  “We’ll soon find out.” Mr. Davis took out the rocks and threw them away. He looked in the bottom of the pan. “Nothing there,” he said.

  They tried another pan, and another. All the morning they worked, but they found no gold.

  They went back to the tent city. Mrs. Davis and Ellen had dinner ready.

  “Have you found gold?” asked Ellen.

  “Not yet,” said Frank.

  “I hope you find some today,” said Mrs. Davis. “Things cost so much at the store, we need gold to pay for them.”

  “I know how to pan gold now,” said Frank. “I wish I had a pan.”

  “Could you use my wooden bowl?” asked his mother.

  “I can try it,” said Frank.

  When he and his father went back to the river, Frank took the wooden bowl. At first they worked together. Then Frank went a little way up the river.

  A man called to him, “Are you finding any gold?”

  “No,” said Frank.

  “Look for a place where the dirt is blue,” the man told him. “Blue dirt is the best for gold.”

  Frank found a place where the dirt was blue. He filled the bowl with dirt. He dipped the bowl into the river and washed out all the mud. One by one he picked out the rocks. In the bottom of the bowl were a few little specks. They were yellow.

  He ran to his father. “I think I’ve found gold!”

  His father looked at the yellow specks. “I think you have, too. Go to the store and show them to the man who buys gold. Ask him if this is really gold.”

  Frank ran to the tent city. He saw his mother and Ellen in front of the tent.

  “Where are you going?” asked Ellen.

  “I think I have some gold,” said Frank. “I’m going to the store to find out.”

  “I want to go, too,” said Ellen. “Please?”

  “Run along, then,” said Mrs. Davis.

  “Come on, Ellen,” said Frank. They ran through the town. People shouted at them as they went by, “Is that bowl full of gold?” Two boys and a dog began to run behind them.

  Frank and Ellen ran into the store.

  A man came up to them. “What can I do for you?”

  Frank held out the bowl. “Will you tell me if this is gold?”

  The man looked at the yellow specks. He rubbed them between his fingers. “It’s gold,” he said.

  “Thank you,” said Frank. He took Ellen’s hand. “Let’s go back and tell Father!”

  Outside the store they met Miss Polly on a big, black horse. She was riding sidesaddle.

  “Hello,” she said. “Where are you going so fast?”

  Frank held up the bowl. “The man says we have gold here. We are going to tell Father.”

  “Where is he?” asked Miss Polly.

  “By the river,” said Frank.

  “Get on my horse,” said Miss Polly. “I’ll take you there.”

  She set Ellen in front of her. Frank got on behind, and they rode away down the trail.

  “There’s Father,” said Ellen.

  Miss Polly stopped the horse. Ellen and Frank got off.

  “It is gold!” said Frank. “The man said so.”

  “Show me where you dug,” said his father.

  “We’ll dig there again.” He looked at the woman on the horse. He took off his hat.

  “This is Miss Polly,” said Ellen. “She wanted to buy our cat.”

  “I still want to buy him,” said Miss Polly.

  “We couldn’t sell Nugget,” said Ellen.

  “I’m sorry,” said Miss Polly. “I need him to keep the rats and mice away from my hotel. I wish my little sister could see him, too.”

  “I didn’t know you had a little sister,” said Ellen.

  “Yes,” said Miss Polly. “She had to leave her cat back East. She is sick now, and she keeps crying for her kitty.”

  “Would she like to play with Nugget?” asked Frank.

  “Oh, yes!” said Miss Polly. “Would you let me take him for a while? I’ll give him a good home, and I’ll send him back whenever you say.”

  Frank looked at Ellen.

  “Do you want to?” he asked.

  “Do you?” she asked.

  “Miss Polly would take good care of Nugget,” said Frank.

  “And we can have him back when we want him,” said Ellen.

  “Will you let me take him with me?” asked Miss Polly.

  “Yes,” said Ellen.

  “Oh, thank you!” said Miss Polly. She said, as she rode away, “You won’t be sorry.”

  Mr. Davis said, “I don’t think you will be sorry. I think you did right.” He picked up his pan. “Come on. Let’s see how much gold we can find to take back to your mother.”

  Father John’s House

  VI

  At Father John’s House

  Sometimes Frank helped his father pan gold. Sometimes he and Ellen helped their mother at the tent. Ellen helped cook. Frank carried wood and water.

  After the work was done, there was time for play. Frank played with two boys who lived near him.

  “I don’t have anyone to play with but boys,” said Ellen. “I wish a girl lived close to me.”

  And one day a girl came to the tent.

  “May I borrow some salt?” she asked.

  Mrs. Davis went to get the salt. Ellen came to the door of the tent. “Hello,” she said. “Where do you live?”

  “I live next door to you,” said the girl. “My mother and father and I put up our tent last night. My name is Ruth.”

  “My name is Ellen. We came from Missouri.”

  “We came from San Francisco,” said Ruth.

  “Our cat lives in San Francisco,” said Ellen.

  “There’s a big bay by the city,” Ruth told her, “and ships are everywhere. All the sailors went to look for gold, and there’s no one left to sail the ships.”

  Mrs. Davis gave her the salt.

  “Thank you,” said Ruth and went back to her tent.

  “Now you have a girl to play with,” Mrs. Davis said to Ellen. “She is just your size.”

  “Yes,” said Ellen. “I’m glad she is here.”

  Frank came up with a load of wood. “Did you see the new people?” he asked.

  “We saw the girl,” said Ellen. “Her name is Ruth.”

  “Do you think Father John knows they are here?” asked Frank. “He goes to see all the new people.”

  “Let’s go tell him,” said Ellen. “May we go, Mother?”

  “Yes, but don’t stay long,” said Mrs. Davis.

  Frank and Ellen went through the tent city and along the river. They came to a little house that was half wood and half stone. It was Father John’s house. He had made it himself.

  Father John was out under the pine trees. He had on his blue checked shirt, and his long beard was white as snow.

  “Hello, hello, Ellen and Frank!” he said. “Come over here and sit with me.”

  “We came to tell you about the new people,” said Ellen.

  “They came last night,” said Frank.

  “They have a girl named Ruth,” said Ellen, “and they live in the tent by us.”

  “I’ll go to see them,” said Father John. “Maybe I can do something to help them.”

  “They came to look for gold,” said Ellen. “Don’t you ever look for gold, Father John?”

  “Not very often. I don’t need much.”

  “We need a lot,” said Frank. “We want to buy some land and build a good house.”

  “With a garden in the back for me,” said Ellen.

  “And a place where I can raise sheep and cows, said Frank.

  “Those are all good things,” said Father John. “I hope you can have them.”

  “We work hard to find gold,” Frank told him, “but we haven’t found much yet.”

  “Maybe you will tomorrow,” said Father John.

  “That’s what our father says,” said Ellen.

  They sat under the trees until Frank said it was time for them to go.

  “I’ll go with you,” said Father John, “and stop to see the new people.”

  They walked through the tent city. From all sides, people called, “Hello, Father John,” and “Where are you going?” and “When are you coming to see me?”

  They all knew Father John.

  That evening Frank and Ellen went to the edge of the tent city. They waited to meet their father. From the woods and the hills and the river, men were coming home. Some of them walked. Some rode horses. Some led mules that carried their packs.

  Mr. Davis came out of the woods. He looked very tired. He carried his pan and pick with him.

  “Where is your shovel?” asked Frank.

  “I staked a claim today,” said Mr. Davis, “and I left my shovel on the claim.”

  “How do you stake a claim?” asked Frank.

  “I found a place where I wanted to dig for gold,” said Mr. Davis, “so I left my shovel there. As long as I work there and leave my shovel at night, no one else can dig there. That is the rule here.”

  “Did you find gold today?” asked Frank.

  “No,” said Mr. Davis.

  “Maybe you will find gold on your claim tomorrow,” said Frank. “Will you take me with you?”

  “It’s a long walk,” said Mr. Davis, “but I’ll take you tomorrow if you want to go.”

  “Will you let me dig?” asked Frank.

  Mr. Davis laughed. “You can dig all you want to.”

  The Golden Land

  VII

  The Nugget

  Frank was the first one up in the morning. He and his father took bread and meat and cheese to eat when they were hungry. They took the pick and the pan.

  “We’ll take the gun, too,” said Mr. Davis. “Yesterday I saw a bear.”

  They said good-by to Mrs. Davis and Ellen. They left the tent city and started into the woods.

  At first there was a trail. It was easy to follow. But soon the trail ended. They had to climb high banks. They jumped from one rock to another.

  “See the marks on the trees?” said Mr. Davis. “I made them. When I follow them, I won’t get lost.”

  They climbed a hill. They slid down the other side.

  Frank saw a stream running between the rocks. He saw a hole dug by the water. In the hole was his father’s shovel.

  “This is my claim,” said Mr. Davis.

  They drank out of the stream. Then they went to work.

  Frank dug up the dirt and sand. His father washed it out in the stream. All morning they worked. They found no gold.

  They ate their bread and meat and cheese. Frank was glad to rest. The sun was hot, and digging the dirt was hard work.

  He took off his shoes and stockings and kicked his feet in the stream. The cold water felt good on his toes.

  He put on his shoes and stockings and walked down the stream. He was looking for colored rocks to take back to Ellen. Close to the water he saw something bright. It was nearly hidden in the sand.

  He picked it up. At first he thought it was a rock. Then he saw that it was the color of gold.

  “Father!” he cried. “Look!”

  “What is it?” Mr. Davis ran to see. “Frank, it’s gold. It’s a gold nugget!” He took it in his hands. “It’s bigger than a hen’s egg!”

  “I found it right here in the sand,” said Frank.

  “Let’s look all around here,” said Mr. Davis. “There may be more nuggets.”

  They looked in the sand. They looked among the rocks. For hours they looked, but they found no more gold.

  “We’ll look again tomorrow,” said Mr. Davis.

  They started home. It was dark when they got back to the tent.

  “I thought you were lost,” said Mrs. Davis. “Ellen and I had supper ready a long time ago.” She looked tired and worried.

  Mr. Davis took the nugget out of his pocket and laid it on the table.

  “See what Frank found,” he said.

  The nugget was bright in the light of the candle. Ellen and her mother came close to it.

  Ellen asked in a whisper, “Is it gold?”

  “It’s the biggest gold nugget I ever saw,” said her father.

  “Are we rich?” asked Ellen.

  Her father sat down at the table. He looked at the nugget. He held it in his hand to see how heavy it was.

  “We will be rich,” he said. “I have a plan that will make us all rich!”

  Rock the Cradle

  VIII

  At the Stream

  The next day Mr. Davis showed the nugget to some men he knew. They had a meeting in the tent.

  “If we can take the dirt out of the stream bed,” said Mr. Davis, “we can find more gold like this.”

  “How can we get to the dirt?” asked one of the men.

  “We can build a dam and dig a ditch by the side of it,” said Mr. Davis. “The water will run down the ditch, and we can take the dirt out of the stream bed.”

  “That will be a lot of work,” said the man.

  “Yes,” said Mr. Davis. “My boy and I can’t do it alone. But if you will help, it won’t take long. If it goes well, there will be gold for us all.”

  “I’ll help,” said the man.

  “So will I,” said another.

  Soon all the men had told Mr. Davis they would help.

  They started to work.

  Frank went with them every day. He watched them dig the ditch. He helped them build the dam of mud, sticks and stones.

  One day he saw a man making something out of boards and nails.

  “That looks like a cradle,” said Frank.

  “It is a cradle,” said the man.

  “Is there a baby in the woods?” asked Frank.

  “No, no!” said the man. “I’ll show you how it works. You put in some dirt and pour water over it. You rock the cradle. The mud and water splash out. The gold stays in the bottom.”

 

1 2 3 4