"It couldn't be five thousand dollars, now, could it ?" "I should say it could," said Seth.
"Was it any more ?" inquired Dan Tompkins.
"Well, boys, I s'pose I may as well tell you, and you may b'lieve it or not, just as you like.

That man is worth twenty thousand dollars to-day." There was a chorus of admiring ejaculations.
"Twenty thousand dollars! Did you ever hear the like ?" "Mind, boys, I don't say it's common to make so much money in so short a time.

There isn't one in ten does it, but some make even more.

What I do say is, that a feller that's industrious, and willin' to work, an' rough it, and save what he makes, is sure to do well, if he keeps well.

That's all a man has a right to expect, or to hope for." "To be sure it is." "What made you come home, Seth, if you were gettin' on so well ?" inquired one.
"That's a fair question," said Seth, "and I'm willin' to answer it.
It was because of the rheumatics.