which is an unsartin proposition, or gittin' the gold, which is as sure
as the sun. That's all I asked."

"But if I choose the gold, then your secret will be known, and there
will be a wild stampede into the place. You don't want that to happen,
do you? It would be the same story of other camps, and perhaps worse."

"No, I don't want it to happen, that's a fact. But, ye see, it's bound
to come sooner or later. Thar are so many men pokin' thar noses into
every hole an' corner, that they are sure to find my mine before long.
Now, I want someone to my likin' to be first on the ground, an' that
someone is you. Ye kin then make yer choice an' stake two claims as
discoverer. Tharfore, which will ye choose, that gal proposition or
the gold? It's up to you. Is it hard to decide?"

"Not at all," was the reply. "I shall take the girl. One might run
across gold any time, but a girl like that one won't find again. And,
besides, what good would the gold be to me without her? I, therefore,
take the girl proposition."

Samson looked at his companion in surprise, as if he had not heard
aright. Here was a phase of character beyond the bounds of his
experience.

"An' ye don't want the gold?" he asked.

"Certainly I want the gold, who wouldn't? But you told me I had to
choose it or the girl, didn't you?"

"I surely did, though I never imagined ye'd throw down the gold. Now,