But it will be askd by the incredjulos Reeder How did you never let out anything to Injian Spring, and How did you get rid of your yeald?
Mister Ford, the Anser is I took it twist a month on hoss back over to La Port and sent it by express to a bank in Sacramento, givin' the name of Daubigny, witch no one in La Port took for me.

The Ditch Stok and the Land was all took in the same name, hens the secret was onreviled to the General Eye--stop a minit,'" he interrupted himself quickly as the master in an accession of impatient scepticism was about to break in upon him, "it ain't all." Then dropping his voice to a tremulous and almost funereal climax, he went on:-- "'Thus we see that pashent indurstry is Rewarded in Spite of Mining Rools and Reggylashuns, and Predgudisses agin Furrin Labor is played out and fleeth like a shad-or contenueyeth not long in One Spot, and that a Man may apear to be off no Account and yet Emass that witch is far abov rubles and Fadith not Away.
"'Hoppin' for a continneyance "'of your fevors I remain, "'Yours to command, "'BENJ D'AUBIGNY."' The gloomy satisfaction with which Uncle Ben regarded this peroration--a satisfaction that actually appeared to be equal to the revelation itself--only corroborated the master's indignant doubts.
"Come," he said, impulsively taking the paper from Uncle Ben's reluctant hand, "how much of this is a concoction of yours and Rupe's--and how much is a true story?
Do you really mean ?"-- "Hold on, Mr.Ford!" interrupted Uncle Ben, suddenly fumbling in the breast-pocket of his red shirt, "I reckoned on your being a little hard with me, remembering our first talk 'bout these things--so I allowed I'd bring you some proof." Slowly extracting a long legal envelope from his pocket, he opened it, and drew out two or three crisp certificates of stock, and handed them to the master.
"Ther's one hundred shares made out to Benj Daubigny.

I'd hev brought you over the deed of the land too, but ez it's rather hard to read off-hand, on account of the law palaver, I've left it up at the shanty to tackle at odd times by way of practising.

But ef you like we'll go up thar, and I'll show it to you." Still haunted by his belief in Uncle Ben's small duplicities, Mr.Ford hesitated.

These were certainly bona fide certificates of stock made out to "Daubigny." But he had never actually accepted Uncle Ben's statement of his identity with that person, and now it was offered as a corroboration of a still more improbable story.