Mr。Carstone’sprophecywasbuthalfrealized。AttheendofsixmonthsHerbertBly’sdiscretionanddevotionweredulyrewardedbyCherry’shand。ButTappingtondidNOTgiveheraway。Thatsaintlyprodigalpassedhisperiodofprobationwithexemplaryrectitude，but，eitherfromadreadofoldtemptation，orsomeunexplainedreason，hepreferredtoremaininPortland，andhisfastidiousnestonTelegraphHillknewhimnomore。Thekeyofthelittledooronthesidestreetpassed，naturally，intothekeepingofMrs。Bly。
WhetherthesecretofTappington’sdoublelifewaseverrevealedtothetwowomenisnotknowntothechronicler。Mrs。BlyisreportedtohavesaidthattheclimateofOregonwasmoresuitedtoherbrother’sdelicateconstitutionthanthedampfogsofSanFrancisco，andthathistasteswerealwaysopposedtothemerefrivolityofmetropolitansociety。Theonlypossiblereasonforsupposingthatthemothermayhavebecomecognizantofherson’syouthfulerrorswasintheoccasionalvisitstothehouseofthehandsomeGeorgeDornton，who，inthesocialrevolutionthatfollowedthebriefreignoftheVigilanceCommittee，characteristicallyreturnedasadashingstockbroker，andthefactthatMrs。Brooksseemedtohavediscardedherasceticshawlforever。Butasallthiswascontemporaneouswiththeabsurdrumor，thatowingtothelonelinessinducedbythemarriageofherdaughtershecontemplatedasimilarchangeinherowncondition，itisdeemedunworthytheseriousconsiderationofthisveraciouschronicle。
CAPTAINJIM’SFRIEND。
I。
Hardlyoneofus，Ithink，reallybelievedintheauriferousprobabilitiesofEurekaGulch。Followingalittlestream，wehadonedaydriftedintoit，verymuchasweimaginedtherivergoldmighthavedoneinremoterages，withthedifferencethatWE