Here, in the moonlight, we stood waiting, Firm and myself and Suan Isco, who had more dread than love of gold, and might be useful to keep watch, or even to lend a hand, for she was as strong as an ordinary man. The night was sultry, and the fire-flies (though dull in the radiance of the moon) darted, like soft little shooting-stars, across the still face of shadow, and the flood of the light of the moon was at its height, submerging every thing.
While we were whispering and keeping in the shade for fear of attracting any wanderers notice, we saw the broad figure of the Sawyer rising from a hollow of the bank, and behind him came Martin the foreman, and we soon saw that due preparation had been made, for they took from under some drift-wood (which had prevented us from observing it) a small movable crane, and fixed it on a platform of planks which they set up in the river-bed.
Palefaces eat gold, Suan Isco said, reflectively, and as if to satisfy herself. Dem eat, drink, die gold; dem pull gold out of one others ears. Welly hope Mellican mans get enough gold now.
Dont be sarcastic, now, Suan, I answered; as if it were possible to have enough!
For my part, said Firm, who had been unusually silent all the evening, I wish it had never been found at all. As sure as I stand here, mischief will come of it. It will break up our household. I hope it will turn out a lump of quartz, gilt on the face, as those big nuggets do, ninety-nine out of a hundred. I have had no faith in it all along.
Because I found it, Mr. Firm, I suppose, I answered, rather pettishly, for I never had liked Firms incessant bitterness about my nugget. Perhaps if you had found it, Mr. Firm, you would have had great faith in it.
Cant say, cant say, was all Firms reply; and he fell into the silent vein again.
Heave-ho! heave-ho! there, you sons of cooks! cried the Sawyer, who was splashing for his life in the water. Ive tackled un now. Just tighten up the belt, to see if he biteth centre-like. You cant lift un! Lord bless ee, not you. It ll take all I know to do that, I guess; and Firm aint to lay no hand to it. Dont you be in such a doggoned hurry. Hold hard, cant you?
For Suan and Martin were hauling for their lives, and even I caught hold of a rope-end, but had no idea what to do with it, when the Sawyer swung himself up to bank, and in half a minute all was orderly. He showed us exactly where to throw our weight, and he used his own to such good effect that, after some creaking and groaning, the long horn of the crane rose steadily, and a mass of dripping sparkles shone in the moonlight over the water.
Hurrah! what a whale! How the tough ash bends! cried Uncle Sam, panting like a boy, and doing nearly all the work himself. Martin, lay your chest to it. Well grass him in two seconds. Californy never saw a sight like this, I reckon.
There was plenty of room for us all to stand round the monster and admire it. In shape it was just like a fat toad, squatting with his shoulders up and panting. Even a rough resemblance to the head and the haunches might be discovered, and a few spots of quartz shone here and there on the glistening and bossy surface. Some of us began to feel and handle it with vast admiration; but Firm, with his heavy boots, made a vicious kick at it, and a few bright scales, like sparks, flew off.
Why, what ails the lad? cried the Sawyer, in some wrath; what harm hath the stone ever done to him? To my mind, this here lump is a proof of the whole creation of the world, and who hath lived long enough to gainsay? Here this lump hath lain, without changing color, since creations day; here it is, as big and heavy as when the Lord laid hand to it. What good to argue agin such facts? Supposin the world come out o nothing, with nobody to fetch it, or to say a word of orders, how ever could it a managed to get a lump of gold like this in it? They clever fellers is too clever. Let em put all their heads together, and turn out a nugget, and Ill believe them.
Uncle Sams reasoning was too deep for any but himself to follow. He was not long in perceiving this, though we were content to admire his words without asking him to explain them; so he only said, Well, well, and began to try with both hands if he could heft this lump. He stirred it, and moved it, and raised it a little, as the glisten of the light upon its roundings showed; but lift it fairly from the ground he could not, however he might bow his sturdy legs and bend his mighty back to it; and, strange to say, he was pleased for once to acknowledge his own discomfiture.
Five hundred and a half I used to lift to the height of my knee-cap easily; I may a fallen off now a hundred-weight with years, and strings in my back, and rheumatics; but this here little toad is a clear hundredweight out and beyond my heftage. If theres a pound here, theres not an ounce under six hundred-weight, Ill lay a thousand dollars. Miss Rema, give a name to him. All the thundering nuggets has thundering names.
Then this shall be called Uncle Sam, I answered, because he is the largest and the best of all.
It shall stand, miss, cried Martin, who was in great spirits, and seemed to have bettered himself forever. You could not have given it a finer name, miss, if you had considered for a century. Uncle Sam is the name of our glorious race, from the kindness of our natur. Every bodys uncle we are now, in vartue of superior knowledge, and freedom, and giving of general advice, and stickin to all the world, or all the good of it. Darned if old Sam arent the front of creation!
Well, well, said the Sawyer, let us call it Uncle Sam, if the dear young lady likes it; it would be bad luck to change the name; but, for all that, we must look uncommon sharp, or some of our glorious race will come and steal it afore we unbutton our eyes.
Pooh! cried Martin; but he knew very well that his masters words were common-sense; and we left him on guard with a double-barreled gun, and Jowler to keep watch with him. And the next day he told us that he had spent the night in such a frame of mind from continual thought that when our pet cow came to drink at daybreak, it was but the blowing of her breath that saved her from taking a bullet between her soft tame eyes.
Now it could not in any kind of way hold good that such things should continue; and the Sawyer, though loath to lose sight of the nugget, perceived that he must not sacrifice all the morals of the neighborhood to it, and he barely had time to dispatch it on its road at the bottom of a load of lumber, with Martin to drive, and Jowler to sit up, and Firm to ride behind, when a troop of mixed robbers came riding across, with a four-wheel cart and two sturdy mulesenough to drag off every thing. They had clearly heard of the golden toad, and desired to know more of him; but Uncle Sam, with his usual blandness, met these men at the gate of his yard, and upon the top rail, to ease his arm, he rested a rifle of heavy metal, with seven revolving chambers. The robbers found out that they had lost their way, and Mr. Gundry answered that so they had, and the sooner they found it in another direction, the better it would be for them. They thought that he had all his men inside, and they were mighty civil, though we had only two negroes to help us, and Suan Isco, with a great gun cocked. But their curiosity was such that they could not help asking about the gold; and, sooner than shoot them, Uncle Sam replied that, upon his honor, the nugget was gone. And the fame of his word was so well known that these fellows (none of whom could tell the truth, even at confession) believed him on the spot, and begged his pardon for trespassing on his premises. They hoped that he would not say a word to the Vigilance Committee, who hanged a poor fellow for losing his road; and he told them that if they made off at once, nobody should pursue them; and so they rode off very happily.