He got some gold, dug from the mud,
Some silver, crushed from stones,
The gold was red with dead men's blood,
The silver black with groans;
And when he died he moaned aloud,
"There'll be no pocket in my shroud."
Joaquin Miller.
John Keeler, returned from his travels, became Palmer's trusted
messenger to Hintzen, to whom the old man sent a copy of his will.
Keeler was provided with another copy to deposit at the court-house in
Downieville, county seat of Sierra County. For although Robert Palmer
disliked courts and lawyers, he deemed it wise to file a copy of his
will at the court-house. This he could do without telling Hintzen, so he
instructed Keeler, after having seen that gentleman at Forest City, to
continue over the mountains to Downieville, as if on private business.
Honest John Keeler, after a year spent in tracking criminals, had little
liking for this new mission. It seemed as if his old friend thought all
men rogues. Such a sweeping condemnation would include himself, and he
resented the insinuation. However, the old man was still feeble. So
Keeler set out on foot across the mountains.
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