The other children strolled leisurely along toward a place that looked
like a long strip of sand.
"A sand beach," said Kyzie.
"No," said Nate; "it isn't a beach and it isn't sand."
"What _can_ you mean? What else is it, pray?"
She stooped and took up a handful of something that certainly looked
like sand. The others did the same.
"What do you call that?" they all asked, as they sifted it through their
fingers.
Nate smiled in a superior way.
"Well, I don't call it sand, because it isn't sand. I thought it was
when I first saw it; I got cheated, same as you. But there's no sand to
it; it's just _tailings_."
"What in the world is tailings?" asked Kyzie, taking up another handful
and looking it over very carefully. Strange if she, a girl in her teens,
couldn't tell sand when she saw it! But she politely refrained from
making any more remarks, and waited for Nate to answer her question. He
was an intelligent boy, between eleven and twelve.
"Well, tailings are just powdered rocks," said Nate.
"Powdered rocks? Who powdered them? What for?" asked Edith.
"Why, the miners did it years ago. They ground up the rocks in the mine
into powder just as fine as they could, and then washed the powder to
get the gold out."
"Oh, I see," said Edith. "So these tailings are what's left after the
gold's washed out."
"Yes, they brought 'em and spread 'em 'round here to get rid of 'em I
suppose."
"Is the gold all washed out, every bit?" asked Jimmy. "Seems as if I
could see a little shine to it now."
"Well, they got out all they could. There may be a little dust of it
left though. Mr. Templeton says the folks in 'Frisco that own the mine
think there's _some_ left, and the tailings ought to be sent to San
Diego and worked over."
Jimmy took up another handful. Yes, there was a faint shine to it; it
began to look precious.
"Well, there's a heap of it anyway. It goes ever so far down," said he,
thrusting in a stick.
"It's from ten to twelve feet deep," replied Nate, proud of his
knowledge; "and see how long and wide!"
"_I_ don't see how they ever ground up rocks so fine," said Kyzie.
"Exactly like sand. And it stretches out so far that you'd think 'twas a
sand beach by the sea,--only there isn't any sea."
"Well, it's just as good as a beach anyway," said Nate. "Just as good
for picnics and the like of that. When there's anything going on, they
get out the brass band and have fireworks and bring chairs and benches
and sit round here. I tell you it's great!"
"There are lots of benches here now," remarked Edith. "And what's that
long wooden thing?"
"That's a staging. That's where they have the brass band sit; that's
where they send up the fireworks."
"Oh, I hope they'll have fireworks while we're here, and picnics."
"Of course they will. They're always having 'em. And I heard somebody
say they're talking of a barbecue."
Edith clapped her hands. She did not know what a barbecue might be, but
it sounded wild and jolly.
"What a long stretch of mud-puddle right here by the tailings," said
Kyzie.