"Yes," Reade smiled. "If the Bright Hope is a real mine there
must be other good property in this region. I've been looking
about, and making an assay every now and then. Jim, you've prospected
a bit, haven't you?"

"Yes," nodded the guide. "And, gentlemen, in my day I've been
sole owner of three claims, each one of which panned out a fortune."

"Great!" glowed Harry. "But how did you lose your money, Jim!"

"I never got a cent out of any of the mines," rejoined the guide
grimly.

"How did that happen?"

"Did you ever hear of 'square gamblers'?" inquired Ferrers.

"Some," Tom admitted with a grimace. "We ran up against one of
that brood in Arizona, eh, Harry?"

"You didn't play against him, I hope, hinted Jim soberly.

"Yes, we did," admitted Tom. "Not with his own marked cards,
though, nor with any kind of cards. We met him with men's weapons,
and it is necessary to add that our 'square gambler' lost."

"The 'square gamblers' that I met didn't lose," sighed Jim Ferrers.
"They won, and that's why all three of my mines passed out of my
hands before they began to pay."