After a long journey over the mountains
Donald reached his log cabin on the Silver Creek.
The monkey, however, did not find quite so immediate
a welcome as himself from Donald’s wife.
The only pet her children had ever seen before was
a baby puma, which the miner had picked out of the
stream one day in a half-drowned state. Donald
had mistaken it for a kitten of some new brand, and
it was not until some weeks later, when it sprang
upon his little girl and buried his claws in her neck,
that he realised what sort of plaything the
puma is the lion of the Rocky Mountains he
had introduced into his family. So Donald’s
wife was suspicious of pets, and when she saw the
monkey she was sure it was another lion, and would
not allow it to enter the door. But Gum had other
ways of entering houses than by doors, and finally
he was received as a lawful member of the family,
for the simple reason that he could not be kept out.
The new guest gave little trouble. Most of the
day the monkey spent with Donald at the mine.
He went off with him when he went to work in the morning,
and gambolled round him till he came home for supper.
And very soon an incident happened which more than
reconciled Donald’s wife to her strange visitor.
Donald’s gold-mine was a poor one. He had
to work very hard to get enough of the precious dust
to keep his family in food, but his spirits were kept
up by the constant hope that he would strike a richer
bed and make his fortune. The way he got the
gold was to take the sand and gravel from the banks
of the river and wash it about in a pan till all the
lighter particles passed off with the water, leaving
the little spangles of gold at the bottom. Sometimes
a week would pass without the miner getting more than
a thimbleful, but occasionally he would find a few
lumps as big as a pea. One day, however, just
as Donald was getting discouraged, a piece of great
good-luck befell him. He had been particularly
depressed that day, for no gold at all had rewarded
his search for a week, and the family were already
in debt for flour and clothes. But, thanks to
the monkey, he was able to go home to his wife with
the largest gold nugget that had been seen in that
valley for many years. Gum had been skirmishing
about as usual on the gravel heaps, when some loose
pebbles were dislodged by his paws, and, as they rolled
down, he must have been attracted by the yellow glitter
in one large lump, for the next moment he had picked
up the nugget and laid it, with a wag of his tail,
at Donald’s feet. The miner almost wept
for gladness, and, taking Gum up in his arms as if
he were a child, hurried home to proclaim his fortune.
That night the family had a great feast, and Gum’s
health was drunk in the strongest tea the mining camp
could furnish. Perhaps if they had known what
was shortly to happen they would not have slept quite
so soundly.