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Show 24. paying big. Dad said, "That baby's father sure knex? how to run a streak once he h i t iiU" "Wife alx*ays seemed to be working along side him too I noticed when I ' d pass." Bill said. Dad looked seriously a t B i l l . How is he?" "Baby's fine-just fine." "His father was a good worker, but my bet is that he'd never mined before-at least not in sand and gravel like was in that mountain's side. He'd continued tunneling in without timberin' a t a l l !" The other miners walked up nox* and they stood around the wagon. Bill reached over and picked up the larger of the two sacks. "We a l l know t h i s gold belongs to the baby in there?" He waited for any objections. "Let's say h e ' l l cut in t h i s sack, plus the twenty pounds of flour in the grub box in there for an eighth of our winter's food supply." The miners looked a t each other. They knew the gold dust belonged to the baby and they knew two x<reeks ago when the l a s t food wagon t r a i n was .here that the sack would have bought enough flour, coffee and beans Tor two or three men, and so s t a r t i n g xrith Dad they a l l nodded. I t was a slow nod from Tiny, but xmen Bill ran his hand through the gold, which had good sized nuggets along with the dust, Tiny's eyes l i t up as he nodded. |