meanwhile tom, happily unconscious that the money entrusted to john miles had been lost, continued to work diligently at his claim. his success varied from day to day; but, on the whole, he was gaining. he spent nothing except for absolute necessities, and in spite of all temptations he gave a wide berth to missouri jack's saloon. in this way he gained the ill-will of the saloon-keeper, who felt a certain portion of every miner's gains ought to find its way into his till.
one evening tom met the saloon-keeper when out walking. the latter had not at that time given up securing tom's patronage.
"good-evening, young feller," said jack.
tom answered the greeting politely.
"why don't you come round to the saloon evenings? we always have a jolly crowd there.[pg 113] after a hard day's work it'll do you good to take a social glass."
"i would rather not drink, thank you," said tom.
"you ain't afraid of a little drink, i hope, are you?"
"yes, i would rather let it alone."
"oh, you're too good to live," said jack, in deep disgust.
"i hope not," answered tom, smiling; "for i hope to live a good many years."
that was the last attempt missouri jack made to secure tom as a patron. our hero spoke in so decided a tone that he understood the uselessness of the attempt.
two months passed, and tom heard nothing from john miles. he was not surprised or disquieted, for he knew that mails to the interior were very irregular, and, besides, miles might not be fond of letter-writing. he took it for granted that the seventy-five dollars had been forwarded home, and were now in his father's hands. he had saved as much more, and would like to have[pg 114] sent that too, for its possession gave him anxiety; but there seemed to be no opportunity.
about this time he received two letters. the first was from john miles, written from san francisco. after acquainting tom with his loss of the bag of gold-dust, he proceeded:—
"i should not have cared so much, tom, had the loss been mine only; but it was hard to think that i had lost your money too, and was unable to pay it back. i know, from what you said, that your father needed the money, and that the delay would put him to a good deal of inconvenience. you shall have it all back, tom, every cent; but you will have to wait awhile. on reaching frisco i got work, and soon saved up enough to pay the debt, when, as bad luck would have it, i fell sick, and before i got well all my money had been used up. now i am well again, and at work, and if i have good luck will be able soon to send on the money to your father. i know you will understand the circumstances, and will excuse the delay.
"the very day i discovered my loss i had a[pg 115] chance to marry a fortune. you will stare at that, and wonder how it happened. at a lonely cabin i made the acquaintance of a widow, who was looking out for a second husband. she was left with a comfortable property, which, with her hand, she was willing to bestow upon your friend; but she didn't tempt me much. i believe her fortune amounted to five thousand dollars and a claim. it would be a good chance for you, if you were old enough, tom.
"i don't know when this letter will reach you, for the country mails—at least to such out-of-the-way places as river bend—go quite irregularly. however, i hope you will get it after a while, and won't be too much troubled about the money; if i live it shall be repaid."
tom showed this letter to ferguson.
"it's a pity, my lad, that the money was stolen," said the scotchman; "but you'll get it again. john miles is an honest man."
"i am sure of that, mr. ferguson. i don't know that i ought to make him pay it back, though. it isn't his fault that it was lost."[pg 116]
"that's true, my lad, and you might offer to share the loss with him, but i doubt if he would accept your offer. he will feel better to pay it all back."
"at any rate i will write him, and make him the offer."
"that's fair, tom; but you'll see what he'll say."
it may be stated here that miles utterly declined to accept any abatement of the debt.
"i ought to have taken better care of the money," he said. "it's my fault, and i shall pay it in full."
the next letter was from home. tom opened and read it eagerly. it was mainly from his father, but there was a note from each member of the family.
his father wrote:—
my dear tom,—we are glad to hear that you have reached california after a wearisome journey, and are now at work. we have travelled so little that we can hardly realize that you are more than three thousand[pg 117] miles away from us, with so many mountains, plains, and valleys between. of course you cannot tell us much in your letters of your various experiences. i wish we could have you with us this evening, and hear some of them from your own lips.
i am anxious to hear that you are succeeding in the object of your journey, and that you will not find the stories of the rich gold fields greatly exaggerated. i do not myself believe all i hear, yet i think there must be gold enough to pay those who search for it diligently. you must remember, my dear boy, that hard work is better than luck, and more to be relied upon. don't expect to make your fortune all at once by finding a big nugget, but work steadily, and you will meet with more or less success.
if you succeed moderately, i shall be glad you went away, for here prospects are not very good. our little farm seems to be less productive every year. the soil is not very good, as you know, and i cannot afford fertilizers. this year the crops were not as good as usual, and we have felt the decrease sensibly. if there were not a mortgage on the farm, i could get along very well, but the interest now amounts to one hundred and thirty-two dollars annually, and it is hard to get that amount together. next month sixty-six dollars come due, and i don't know how i am to find the money. squire hudson could a[pg 118]fford to wait; but i am afraid he won't. the older and richer he gets, the more grasping he becomes, i sometimes think. however, i don't want to borrow trouble. if it is absolutely necessary i can sell off one of the cows to raise the money, and before the year comes round i think you will be able to help me.
walter, though only twelve years old,—his thirteenth birthday comes next month,—helps me about the farm, and is very useful in doing chores. he likes farm-work, and will be ready to succeed me in time. as for sarah, she is a good, sensible girl, and helps her mother in a good many ways. though i am a poor man, and always expect to remain so, i feel that i am blessed in having good, industrious children, who promise to grow up and do me credit. i should not be willing to exchange one of my boys for squire hudson's son sinclair. he is, to my mind, a very disagreeable boy, who makes himself ridiculous by the airs he puts on. i have seen him once or twice lately when he appeared to have been drinking; but i hope i am mistaken in this. he is an only son, and it would be a pity that he should go astray.
tom looked thoughtful after reading this letter.
"is it bad news, tom, lad?" asked ferguson.
"times are hard at home, mr. ferguson,"[pg 119] answered tom. "father is very much in need of money. it would have been a great help to him if he had received that seventy-five dollars."
"you have as much as that on hand now, tom. if it isn't enough, i will lend you some."
"thank you, mr. ferguson. you are a good friend, and i wouldn't mind accepting your offer, if i needed it. but father won't need any more than i can send him. only i don't know how to get it to him."
"if you were in san francisco, you would have no difficulty in sending the money."
"no."
"i've been thinking, tom," said ferguson, after a while, "that it might be a good plan for us to take a little vacation, and visit the city. we have been working steadily here over three months, and the change would do us good. besides, we might on the way come across some better place. this isn't as good now as when we began to work it."
"that is true," said tom.
"suppose, then, we stay a week longer, sell[pg 120] out our claim if we can, and start in the direction of the city."
"you and i?"
"yes; we shall be better off without company."
"we had better not let peabody know we are going, or he will want to accompany us."
"i could almost be willing to take him, poor creature, to get him away from that missouri jack; but, as you say, he would not be a help to us."
so it was decided that, in a few days, as soon as they were ready, tom and ferguson should leave river bend.
