Chapter 13: A Bushel of Neckties

 

That night, Cut-Eye Higgins left Hangtown for an unknown place. In the days that followed, Praiseworthy’s name was spread though the diggings. Everyone had heard about the punch up hill. Praiseworthy and Jack began to look very different. They both wore red miner’s shirts, boots, and cowboy hats. Praiseworthy stopped shaving. Within a few days he began to look fierce. Jack collected four tin cans to stake their claim. They bought a tent and pitched it beside Pitch-pine Billy’s tent. They shoveled dirt and panned mud all day. Pitch-pine Billy told them to buy candles so that they could get rid of the fleas. Everything seemed very expensive at the diggings. Candles were $1 each, onions were $1.50 a pound, and gold at the diggings was worth only $4 an ounce instead of $16 like it was in San Francisco. Jack and Praiseworthy slowly collected more and more supplies. Jack also found a nugget of gold in the grass and was excited because he thought it may buy him a burro. On the same night that Jack found the gold nugget, Jack and Praiseworthy went to town for dinner. There was a letter waiting for them from Dr. Buckbee. It told them that Dr. Buckbee was sick and could not leave the bed. He asked them to take care of finding the map. He also promised that if they found his map and it led to gold, he would give them half of what was found. Praiseworthy and Jack knew it was time to get a burro and go look for Cut Eye Higgins. What Jack really wanted, though, was a four shooter gun to catch the thief. After dinner, Praiseworthy stayed at the hotel to reply to Dr. Buckbee’s letter. Jack and Pitch-pine Billy went to wander around the town. They heard an auction bell ring and decided to go to the auction. They waited through the sale of sugar, a wheel barrow, and other items, but there was no gun. The auctioneer announced that he did have a bushel of neckties sent to him by mistake. At that same time, Jimmie-from-Town said that he was hungry and wanted to go get something to eat. Jack said, “We’ve done that.” Jimmie-from-Town asked, “Done what?” Jack replied, “Ate.” The auctioneer heard Jack say “ate” while the auction for the ties was happening and said, “Sold for eight dollars.” Jack stood as if struck by lightning. The miners laughed, but told him he had to pay up even if he didn’t mean to buy the neckties. They all knew there was no need for neckties in Hangtown. Jack put his gold nugget on the scale and had to cut off two ounces of his nugget. He was mad because that could have gone for supplies or a gun.  When he came back to the hotel, he showed Praiseworthy the bushel of neckties he had bought by mistake. Praiseworthy told him it was a brilliant purchase. He also said they would buy their mountain canary, or mule, with the neckties. Jack didn’t know how that would happen, but trusted Praiseworthy.The next day, Jack and Praiseworthy worked at the diggings looking for gold but no one came looking to buy neckties. Jack decided that he felt bad about what he had done and wouldn’t say anything about it.The morning after that, three people came to Pitch-pine Billy’s claim. Jack recognized Jonas T. Fletcher, the undertaker, and two merchants with him. They were looking for Praiseworthy. They told him that it was Praiseworthy’s job to “uphold the fair name of Hangtown.” The men told him about a man from another town challenging Praiseworthy to a fight. This same man said that he could whip Praiseworthy in a fight. Although this man could barely write his name, he was very big and strong. His nickname was Mountain Ox. Praiseworthy said, “It doesn’t seem like a fair fight.” The undertaker said, “He is bigger, and taller, and meaner.”Praiseworthy said, “That’s not what I mean. It isn’t a fair fight for him.” Everyone was surprised by what he said. The Mountain Ox sounded enormous. Praiseworthy wouldn’t have a chance. Praiseworthy explained that since the Mountain Ox couldn’t read and write, he was at a disadvantage. Praiseworthy agreed to the fight, but said they needed to keep looking for gold and would fight in the middle of August. After the men left, Pitch-pine Billy said Praiseworthy was going to die if he fought the next month. They went back to diggings, when all of a sudden the miners started shouting about their old friend Quartz Jackson being back. He had brought his new wife! All of the men were very excited that there was a lady in town. They hadn’t seen a lady in a very long time!Within five minutes, all of the miners were in the stream washing up and planning to go into town to see the lady. They washed their clothes and shaved their beards. Praiseworthy and Jack took their time and then came out from their tent with green neckties. All of the miners started swarming around the basket of neckties and offering to give pinches of gold for a tie. Within twenty minutes, all of the neckties were sold and Jack’s pouch was full of gold. They knew that the gold would buy them a burro and maybe even a gun. The miners made their way to town from the diggings. Once they got to town, they saw Quartz Jackson and a beautiful woman. They told Praiseworthy and Jack that they were going to build a cabin and could stop by for tea anytime. They also looked and saw that everyone in town was staring at them and wearing neckties.

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Chapter 14: The Prospectors

 

When Jack woke up the next morning he ran outside to see if the burro that they bought was still there. They had tied the burro, who they had named Stubb, to a stake outside of the tent. The man who they had bought Stubb from said that Stubb was a proud animal but sometimes thought he was a mule. Jack told him they would be friends. Jack untied the burro and at that moment, Stubb kicked out his back legs which caused Jack to fly onto the ground. Jack was so surprised that he just sat there. Pitch-pine Billy laughed and reminded Jack that Stubb thought he was a mule. Jack brushed himself off. “All I wanted to do was ride him.” Pitch-pine Billy said, “The mules around here are half wild. They don’t want to be ridden. You have to blindfold them first and then they’ll stand still.” He pulled out a red bandana and tied it around Stubb’s face.Jack walked over to the burro, threw a leg over his back, and held on. Pitch-pine Billy pulled off the bandana. Stubb stood still, trying to decide if he should act like a mule or a burro. “Good boy, Stubb,” said Jack.Stubb gave a little kick, but then decided to behave himself. Jack walked him back and forth a few times and then slipped to the ground. “We have ourselves a good burro,” he told Praiseworthy. Stubb gave a kick to show he was mad.“Mule, I mean,” Jack said.After breakfast, they packed up their supplies and put them on Stubb while he was blindfolded. They were ready to leave Hangtown. All of the miners came to say goodbye. “We’ll be looking for you when you come back next month to fight Mountain Ox,” said Buffalo John. Praiseworthy said, “I’ll be here,” and took the blindfold off Stubbs. “Let’s get going, partner.” They took the squirrel gun, which was not as exciting as a four shooter, and headed off. They led Stubbs with a rope. Jack knew he could use the squirrel gun to hunt for a little bit of food and scare an outlaw or two. They walked off and heard their friends from town shouting goodbyes to them. It was hard to leave them, but would be even harder to come back when it was time for the fight. “Are you really going to fight him?” asked Jack.“I gave my word that I would,” said Praiseworthy. He didn’t seem worried at all about fighting. Jack imagined his partner lying in the dust on the street after a fight with Mountain Ox. He was worried that Praiseworthy would lose.“I intend to beat him,” said Praiseworthy.“With reading and writing?” asked Jack. “Exactly. Miss Arabella gave me a book called The Gentleman’s Book of Boxing. I read it and studied it. I could tell you everything it said in it. I know Mountain Ox hasn’t read the book. All he does is fight so I know I can outwit and outbox him. I’m actually beginning to look forward to my fight with him.”Jack put Mountain Ox out of his mind. He took the squirrel gun and kept an eye out for rabbits, squirrels, savages, and outlaws. Now all they needed to do was find gold. 

 

Chapter 15: The Man Who Couldn’t Sit Down

 

Day after day, Praiseworthy and Jack moved their camp while they searched for gold. Sometimes they were successful, and sometimes they weren’t. At night time the fleas were really bad. Jack kept a candle by the gold pans and would count who caught more dead fleas. Jack announced that he was ahead and Praiseworthy said he had flea bites to prove that what Jack said was true. Praiseworthy loved the mountain air and loved being in California. They wondered if they would ever find gold or “pay dirt.”One night Praiseworthy and Jack were sitting around the campfire when a miner walked by them. They asked him to stop and sit with them, but the miner said he couldn’t because he had a terrible toothache. The miner was going to Shirt-tail camp because he had heard they had a dentist there. Praiseworthy and Jack suspected that Cut-Eye Higgins was the dentist. The miner told them that the dentist’s name was Doc Higgins.Days passed and Jack and Praiseworthy continued looking for gold. One day they saw Digger Indians. The women wore bright calico dresses and would mine for gold with baskets. A prospector told them the Digger Indians were looking for gold so that they could trade it for dresses, serapes, and red sashes. Jack and Praiseworthy slowly added gold dust to their pouches, but had never come close to striking it rich. Every place that they found had been passed through by other miners. The saw Chinese sifting through the camps trying to find little bits of gold left behind. Jack noticed the rockers made of all sorts of different materials. To use a rocker, the miners would shovel dirt into the top and rock it back and forth so gold would catch at the bottom. One afternoon in late July, Jack decided to take his squirrel gun and look for a jackrabbit to eat for dinner. He walked around, thinking of how surprised Aunt Arabella and his sisters would be if they saw him hunting. All of a sudden, a bear appeared. Jack was very scared and felt like he couldn’t move. All he had to protect himself was a squirrel gun! The bear stood on its hind legs and showed his teeth. Jack began to back up. As he backed up, he fell into a coyote hole that had been dug by miners looking for gold. The bear looked everywhere for him and eventually left because he couldn’t see inside the hole. Jack was scraped and bruised but had broken no bones. He tried to climb out of the hole but couldn’t. Every time he got halfway up, he would slide back down. He began to call for help. He knew that he was too far away from camp for Praiseworthy to hear, but he shouted anyway. Finally, he took the squirrel gun and shot up at the sky. He saw a face up above him. “Help, sir!” Jack said. “What are you doin’ down there?” “Trying to get out, sir!” “I heard you callin’. You almost shot my hat off.” “Sorry, sir.” The man threw a rope down the hole for Jack. He held on tightly and the stranger pulled him out. Jack stood up and looked at the stranger. He was wearing Cut-Eye Higgin’s white coat! Jack backed away, almost falling back into the coyote hole again. “What’s the matter, boy? You look like you seen a ghost.” Jack’s heart was pounding. “I know who you are—a road agent!” “Now, that’s a fact,” the man laughed. “But I’ve retired from the road agent profession. That’s a fact too. All of my friends were shot or hung and I got away but was shot on the seat of my pants. I haven’t been able to sit in a month. Me and my horse just walk and hunt for grizzly bears. I’m not a road agent anymore. You haven’t seen a big bear around here, have you? I’ve been hunting him for two days.” Jack calmed down but kept his distance. “I’ll bet you’re still looking for Dr. Buckbee’s mine.” “Mine? What mine is that, boy?” Jack realized that the stranger didn’t know about the map in the lining of Cut-Eye Higgin’s coat. He pointed the squirrel gun at the man. “You pointin’ that thing at me?” the reformed road agent laughed.

“Yes, sir. You stole the coat you’re wearing, didn’t you?” “I guess I did. Did it belong to a friend of yours? I feel bad wearing it even though I like it. I’d appreciate it if you could give it back to your friend. It was too tight on me anyways.” He peeled the coat off and threw it at Jack. It landed on the ground. Then the man took his horse’s halter and began to walk away. Jack told him the bear had just left. Then the man turned and began to laugh. He told Jack next time he pointed the squirrel gun at someone, he had better make sure it was loaded. Jack’s face reddened. He was sorry he hadn’t been more polite to someone who had helped him. “Thank you, sir!” he called.Jack ran back to camp with the  coat. “Look what I’ve got!” he said to Praiseworthy. “It’s Cut-Eye Higgin’s coat!” Jack told Praiseworthy about the meeting with the grizzly bear and the reformed road agent. Praiseworthy took a knife and ripped open the lining of the coat. They looked in the coat and Jack’s excitement died away. There was no map. There never had been a map in the coat! Praiseworthy said, “The scoundrel fooled us. He never lost the map to the highwaymen. This means that he used the map to go to Shirt-tail Camp. He may not have even found the mine yet. If he had, he wouldn’t be pulling teeth. Let’s eat beans for dinner, partner. First thing tomorrow morning we’ll go to Shirt-tail Camp to look for Cut-Eye Higgins and the map.”

 

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Chapter 16: The Gravediggers

 

It took Jack and Praiseworthy two days to get to Shirt-tail Camp. On their way, they passed Old Cap Sutter’s Sawmill. Old Cap had hired Jim Marshall to build a mill. One January morning in 1848, Jim Marshall saw gold. He thought it was fool’s gold, but beat it with a rock and saw that it was real because it flattened out. If it was fool’s gold, it would have split apart. Marshall went to Sacramento where Old Cap had built a fort. They locked the door to the fort and tried other tests. They used a scale and weighed it under water. They saw the gold was heavier than silver. Then they tested the gold with acid to see if it would rust. It didn’t. There was no question. Marshall had found gold. By the time Jack and Praiseworthy got there, there were squatters all along the river. Praiseworthy found a miner standing in the river and asked if they were going the right way to Shirt-tail Camp. The miner said, “Just follow the river. If you hurry you might get there in time for the hangin’. A lot of boys have taken the day off to watch it. It’s that dentist fella. They caught him trying to steal a horse.”

Praiseworthy and Jack looked at each other. They needed to get there fast before Cut-Eye Higgins was hung. Only he knew where Dr. Buckbee’s gold would be. They hurried to Shirt-tail Camp and got there in an hour. They saw Cut-Eye Higgins sitting on a horse with a rope around his neck that was tied to a tree. A crowd was circled around him. They knew they were just in time. Praiseworthy told Jack to pretend he had a toothache. He said to moan really loudly. The Justice of the Peace was talking to Cut-Eye Higgins. “I’ll make sure you get a good buryin’. We never minded that you took gold every time you took out a tooth. We never minded that you stole pocket watches. You’re a dentist so we tried to let you get away with some things. But stealin’ a horse is the worst crime and you got to pay the penalty. Since you said your dyin’ words two times this morning, it’s time to get on with it. Boys, move the horse!” “Hold on!” demanded Praiseworthy. “This boy has a toothache.” The Justice of the Peace threw down his hat. “Doggone! That’s the third one today! We’ll never hang him!” Praiseworthy said it would just take a moment. Jack moaned and held on to his check. He was scared that his tooth would be pulled. They took Cut-Eye Higgins down from the tree and Cut-Eye Higgins recognized Jack and Praiseworthy. “Open your mouth, son, and stop squirming.” Jack refused to open his mouth. Cut-Eye Higgins whispered that he would just pretend to look around in his mouth and not pull a tooth.  Praiseworthy whispered, “We came for the map.” “I figured. Get me out of this and the map is yours.” Praiseworthy nodded and said, “It’s a deal. I’ll try, but I want to see the map first.” Cut-Eye Higgins took off his jipijapa hat. He took a folded piece of brown paper out of the sweatband of the hat. He handed the map to Praiseworthy. He put the hat back on and it was too big, now. “That’s my part of the deal. Now you keep yours. Open up your mouth, boy.”Praiseworthy looked at the map. The X-marked Shirt-tail Camp.  He told Cut-Eye Higgins that the map was no good.  Cut-Eye Higgins said, “I never said it was good. But it’s the map Dr. Buckbee’s brother gave him. By the time I got to the spot there were a hundred of miners on the spot.” Cut-Eye Higgins had led them on a wild goose chase. “Get me out of this noose,” said Cut-Eye Higgins. “It was our bargain.”Praiseworthy knew he had given his word and had to stand by it. He talked to the men and said, “You’re about to string up the only dentist in these diggings. Think of the pain and suffering. Tomorrow you may need a dentist. The doc can’t pull teeth if he is dead.” The men yelled in approval. “I say you put him in jail until another dentist comes to town.  Then you can hang him.”The Justice of the Peace agreed and said he would be put in jail and people could visit until another dentist came. After that, Cut-Eye Higgins would be hung. Then he told Jack and Praiseworthy that since it was their idea, it would be their job to dig the grave six feet deep.

 

Chapter 17: The Fifteenth of August

 

Jack jumped! “By the Great Horn Spoon!” he yelled. “Look! I see it!” Praiseworthy said. 

“Pay dirt! As yellow as can be,” Praiseworthy responded. The gold looked like tiny pieces of sunlight wrapped in the dirt. The two partners threw their hats in the air. In excitement they joined arms and danced in circles inside the pit that they had dug. “We’ve done it, Jack, we’ve done it!” Praiseworthy screamed. “We have struck it rich!” A small amount of time went by before Jack realized that Praiseworthy had called him Jack instead of Master Jack. He had always wanted Praiseworthy to call him just Jack and now he had! Jack could not stop jumping up and down with happiness. Jack then pulled out a piece of gold and hit it flat with a stone. It looked as flat as a button. “Put up some stakes quickly Jack.” instructed Praiseworthy. Together Jack and Praiseworthy measured off enough space to dig for more gold. Using Praiseworthy’s umbrella and a pine tree limb for stakes, they hung tin cans from corner to corner so that their claim would be legal. Praiseworthy joked, “Cut-Eye Higgins has done us a favor after all.” The next day Praiseworthy went to Coloma to buy a Long Tom while Jack stayed behind with a squirrel gun to watch their stake. Within twenty-four hours of Jack and Praiseworthy finding gold, miners had staked claims everywhere. They now called this area Gravedigger’s Hill. All day long Jack and Praiseworthy worked digging and mining for gold.  One night after dinner Jack said, “Won’t Aunt Arabella be surprised when we walk in?” Praiseworthy looked into the coffee fire and touched Aunt Arabella’s picture that was in his shirt pocket. He began to think about her and wonder what she was doing now. However, he quickly reminded himself that he must not forget that he was a butler! He knew that once they arrived back in Boston he would continue his duties as a butler, just as his father and grandfather had. He knew that Aunt Arabella needed him. The next morning a miner came rushing up the hill from Shirt-tail Camp yelling, “Doc Higgins has escaped!” The miner continued on to explain that Doc Higgins had used his dentist tools to break out of the jail house that had been built for him. After almost two weeks of digging in their claim, the gold became less and less. Other miners began to pull the stakes from their claims to follow the rumors that they had heard of gold being found in other places. On the morning of August fifteenth, Jack and Praiseworthy set up their tent. It was the same day that Praiseworthy was scheduled to fight Mountain Ox. Jack felt as though Praiseworthy was not in a hurry to keep his appointment in Hangtown and he began to wonder if  Praiseworthy had changed his mind about fighting Mountain Ox. Praiseworthy exclaimed, “Not on your life, Jack. We’ll make it.” They quickly blindfolded Stubb and packed their belongings. At this point they had eleven pouches of gold dust, which would be a fortune in San Francisco. Before they left both of them stood and gazed at their claim one last time. Both of them felt like they were leaving an old friend. As they began to walk away, two Chinese miners moved in to work their claim. After arriving in Coloma, they traded in their mining tools and boarded a stagecoach. Jack felt invincible as he rubbed his hand along the bottom of his gun. He took one last look at Stubb, who had been sold to the Justice of the Peace. They arrived in Hangtown in the late afternoon. The main street was decorated as though it were the Fourth of July. There were miners, horses, burros and mules everywhere. As soon as Praiseworthy stepped out of the stagecoach he heard a shout. “There he is! It’s Bullwhip himself!” Pitch-pine Billy ran over and greeted them. In another moment Jimmie-from-Town, Buffalo John and Quartz Jackson had crowded around. “Let’s get on with it,” yelled Pitch-pine Billy. “Where’s the Mountain Ox?”The miners formed a large circle in the center of the street. Others climbed on the store roofs for a better view. When Mountain Ox appeared, Jack’s heart dropped. The Mountain Ox smiled. His neck looked like the stump of a tree and his chest looked as big around as a flour barrel.“He is a large man at that,” said Praiseworthy as he looked at his opponent.“I wish we’d never come back here,” Jack mumbled.“You want me to back out?” asked Praiseworthy.Jack took a breath and answered, “You gave your word. You have got to stick by it. Jonas T. Fletcher, the undertaker, asked, “Are you two men ready?”The undertaker moved out of the way and Praiseworthy moved forward, ready to fight. Jack’s heart was pounding in his ears. The Mountain Ox took the first swing and everyone was amazed to see Praiseworthy still standing. Praiseworthy took the next swing which didn’t hurt the Mountain Ox, but did surprise him. “Come on, Ox-finish him off!”“Don’t be scared of him, Bullwhip!” Five long minutes passed. Praiseworthy decided his plan of attack. He decided to hit Mountain Ox in the nose repeatedly. Praiseworthy continued to duck and miss all of Mountain Ox’s punches. After one final hit to the nose by Praiseworthy, the Mountain Ox fell over onto the dirt. The miners all cheered and Pitch-pine Billy said, “The winner! The fair name of Hangtown has been saved! Let’s celebrate!” As the walked away, Jack’s face glowed with pride. There wasn’t another partner that he’d rather have. 

 

Chapter 18: Arrival at the Long Wharf

 

The next morning Praiseworthy and Jack left on a stagecoach for Sacramento City. They had struck it rich and needed to hurry back to Boston before Aunt Arabella sold their family house. Praiseworthy however, was thinking less about Boston and more about Aunt Arabella. He felt that she would like California and that she needed to find herself a husband. Praiseworthy wanted to marry her. However, he knew that he was a butler and that it would be unthinkable so he quickly thought of something else. As they traveled out of the mountains and arrived in Sacramento, Jack was disappointed that they had not seen any road agents. He had been prepared to use his four-shooter if they had run into trouble. In the river there was a steamboat waiting for them. They bought tickets and boarded the boat with their pockets full of gold dust. As they sailed away they thought about the fact that in fourteen hours they would be in San Francisco. The steamboat went charging down the river, blowing its whistle at anything that got in its way, even floating logs. Praiseworthy and Jack were weighed down by their gold. They carried their treasure pouches tied to their belts. “Fine-looking country,” Praiseworthy would say every once in a while. “Fine-looking country,” Jack would agree. Jack knew that Praiseworthy would miss California. He knew that things would change when they arrived in Boston. No one would refer to Praiseworthy as Bullwhip and Jack would not be allowed to drink coffee but they knew that they belonged in Boston. They were not the only miners aboard the ship heading for home. They met many miners who had left the diggings, as poor as when they had arrived. Jack and Praiseworthy slept in everything but their boots. When they awoke the next morning and went out on the deck the ship was entering the San Francisco Bay. The masts of hundreds of ships could be seen around the port.All of the sudden the ship’s boiler exploded loudly and the smokestack shot in the air. The pilothouse followed, with the captain still inside shouting orders. Passengers were thrown over the side of the ship, among which were Jack and Praiseworthy. The next thing that Jack knew he was underwater and the gold pouches were pulling him down. He fought to come up, but the weights kept dragging him below. Then, fighting for his life, he unbuckled his belt. The buckskin pouches and four-shooter fell to the bottom of the ocean. Moments later, Jack came to the surface of the water, spit out water and looked around. The riverboat was gone and so was Praiseworthy. However, a second later Praiseworthy appeared. “Hang on partner,” said Praiseworthy. “Are you alright?” “Ruination!” yelled Jack. “I unbuckled my belt.”“Think nothing of it Jack. I had to do the same thing.” Praiseworthy replied.Within several minutes there were several large boats pulling people out of the water. Jack landed on the Long Wharf, poor and soaking wet. They had struck it rich but now their fortune was somewhere at the bottom of the bay.“Gone forever,” Jack mumbled.“It was only gold Jack. We still have our good health!” Praiseworthy replied.They wouldn’t be returning back to Boston but they still needed to return. They began to climb up the stairs to the wharf when they noticed the Lady Wilma. 

“Strange, Captain Swain had planned to sail home as soon as he could,” stated Praiseworthy. Jack and Praiseworthy decided to borrow a small boat and row out to the Lady Wilma. They climbed aboard and quickly realized that the crew was gone and the ship was empty. The only thing that they saw was cats. “Those cats from Peru,” Jack said.“And they appear to have multiplied,” Praiseworthy responded.As they looked around the ship they also noticed that rats had gnawed through barrels of food. As Jack and Praiseworthy looked around the empty ship they wondered how they would ever get back to Aunt Arabella, Sarah and Constance. The two partners returned to the wharf. Jack had taken one of the kittens with him. They walked into town and tried to find Captain Swain. Instead however, they found Mr. Azariah Jones. He had become an auctioneer. Mr. Azariah Jones offered them some pickles that he was auctioning off and they began to talk. “What happened to Captain Swain and the Lady Wilma?” asked Praiseworthy.“His crew ran off to the diggings so he decided to give up and find a passage home,” replied Mr. Jones.“Is Dr. Buckbee still in San Francisco?” asked Praiseworthy. “No, he got over the fever and gave up on that gold map of his”.”Mr. Azariah Jones began to explain to Jack and Praiseworthy how he was concerned about the rat problem in San Francisco. “Rats?” said Praiseworthy.“Did you say rats?” asked Jack.“Yes. I auctioned off a cat yesterday for fifteen dollars,” replied Mr. Jones. Jack pulled a cat from his shirt as he looked at Praiseworthy. At that moment they both thought of all the cats aboard the Lady Wilma. They went back and brought back several bags of cats to auction off.The cat auction drew a huge crowd. By the end of the afternoon Jack and Praiseworthy had earned almost four hundred dollars.The two partners walked towards the Long Wharf to look into buying a passage home. A ship had recently dropped anchor in the harbor and passengers were coming ashore. Suddenly, Jack noticed two girls who looked like Sarah and Constance and a woman in a straw hat that looked exactly like Aunt Arabella. It was Aunt Arabella! Praiseworthy stopped in his tracks as the woman and two girls walked right past them. “Sarah! Constance!” Jack hollered. “Miss Arabella!” said Praiseworthy. Aunt Arabella turned and saw that it was Jack and Praiseworthy. She hardly recognized them in their mining gear. “You’re so changed. Both of you!” cried Aunt Arabella. “I am delighted to see you Miss Arabella,” replied Praiseworthy. The girls and Aunt Arabella told them that they had sold the old house and decided to come to California to follow Jack and Praiseworthy. Jack and Praiseworthy shared their stories of finding gold, being called Jamoka Jack and Bullwhip and how they became miners. “Will you be returning to Boston?” Praiseworthy asked. “Certainly not,” Aunt Arabella replied.Knowing that Miss Arabella would not be retuning to Boston, Praiseworthy began to gather up the courage to ask her to marry him.“Women are scarce out her, Miss Arabella. Maybe this isn’t the time or the place, Miss Arabella, but when a man strikes gold he doesn’t waste time staking a claim”. Praiseworthy quickly took off his hat and said, “Miss Arabella, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”“Marry you? Why of course. I thought that you would never ask!” replied Aunt Arabella. “By the Great Horn Spoon!” shouted Praiseworthy. Everyone was excited as they all walked up from the Long Wharf. They looked very much like a family. They felt like a family. They were a family.