addressed himself to the blaze as he said presently: "It allus
seemed to me that thar was something shiny about that ledge just
round the shoulder of the spur, over the long canyon."

The leader ejaculated a short laugh. "Shiny, eh? shiny! Ye think
THAT a sign? Why, you might as well reckon that because Key's
head, over thar, is gray and silvery that he's got sabe and
experience." As he spoke he looked towards the man with a pleasant
voice. The fire shining full upon him revealed the singular fact
that while his face was still young, and his mustache quite dark,
his hair was perfectly gray. The object of this attention, far
from being disconcerted by the comparison, added with a smile:--

"Or that he had any silver in his pocket."

Another lapse of silence followed. The wind tore round the house
and rumbled in the short, adobe chimney.

"No, gentlemen," said the leader reflectively, "this sort o' thing
is played out. I don't take no more stock in that cock-and-bull
story about the lost Mexican mine. I don't catch on to that
Sunday-school yarn about the pious, scientific sharp who collected
leaves and vegetables all over the Divide, all the while he
scientifically knew that the range was solid silver, only he
wouldn't soil his fingers with God-forsaken lucre. I ain't saying
anything agin that fine-spun theory that Key believes in about
volcanic upheavals that set up on end argentiferous rock, but I
simply say that I don't see it--with the naked eye. And I reckon
it's about time, boys, as the game's up, that we handed in our
checks, and left the board."