"He war hyar mighty nigh all day long," he said reflectively. "He
eat his dinner along of we-uns."

"Who? the Gov'nor o' the State?" exclaimed Birt, astounded.

"Naw, 'twarn't HIM," Tim admitted somewhat reluctantly, since Birt
seemed disposed to credit "we-uns" with a gubernatorial guest.
"It's the surveyor I'm talkin' 'bout. Nate hed ter pay him three
dollars an' better fur medjurin' the land. He tole Nate ez his land
war ez steep an' rocky a spot ez thar war in Tennessee from e-end
ter e-end. He axed Nate what ailed him ter hanker ter pay taxes on
sech a pack o' bowlders an' bresh. He 'lowed the land warn't wuth a
cent an acre."

"What did Nate say?" asked Birt, who hung with feverish interest on
every thoughtless word.

"Waal, Nate 'lows ez he hev fund a cur'ous metal on his land; he say
it air GOLD!" Tim opened his eyes very wide, and smacked his lips,
as if the word tasted good. "He 'lowed ez he needn't hev been in
sech a hurry ter enter his land, 'kase the entry-taker told it ter
him ez it air the law in Tennessee ez ennybody ez finds a mine or
val'able min'ral on vacant land hev got six months extry ter enter
the land afore ennybody else kin, an' ef ennybody else wants ter
enter it, they hev ter gin the finder o' the mine thirty days'
notice."

Tim winked, an impressive demonstration but for the insufficiency of
eyelashes: -