Gold, surely! But, wonderful to relate, not an irregular, shapeless fragment of crude ore, fresh from Nature's crucible, but a bit of jeweler's handicraft in the form of a plain gold ring.

Looking at it more attentively, he saw that it bore the inscription, "May to Cass." Like most of his fellow gold-seekers, Cass was superstitious.

"Cass!" His own name! He tried the ring.

It fitted his little finger closely.
It was evidently a woman's ring.

He looked up and down the highway.