midday
Esau proved a great help , though , twice during the many toilsome days which followed , by his discoveries in two streams , and I helped him to drive some delicious little trout into shallow water , where they were captured , to Quong 's great delight . How many days and weeks had passed before we were busy by one of the small streams which ran down into the river I can not now remember , for I have lost count . It seemed that we had been tramping on for a great while , and that it might have been last year when we left the sea . It was long past midday , and the appearance of this little stream had attracted Gunson so that he determined to camp by it for the night ; and leaving Quong and Esau to get a fire and make cakes with the last of our flour , he took the gun , and I a light pine pole , to see if we could not get something in the way of fish or game . I did not say anything , but I knew that Gunson meant to try the sands of the stream as well for gold . After about an hour 's walking , and stopping from time to time to wash a little of the gravel , and pause in likely places , I suddenly drew my companion 's attention to something moving in an open glade dotted with small pines and bushes , where the stream ran slowly by through quite a lawn-like stretch . He threw himself down and I followed his example , watching him as he crawled forward , taking advantage of every bush and rock , till he suddenly stopped , aimed , there was a puff of white smoke , and we both sprang up .