They had struck a rich lead at their new claim. Within the first week they were washing five hundred dollars in dust a day. The waters were low, and the bars were exposed. True to his word, Joaquin had sent six capable men from Hermosillo to assist them, and they worked like greased lightning, being accustomed to the boiling heat of midday. Why, just one day alone when Zelnora was going to use the necessary behind a boulder, she stubbed her toe on a large stone. It was a solid nugget weighing about thirty pounds. This was along the main path between Jamestown and Sonoran Camp, and hundreds of people had traveled through without seeing it! Having to ensure the word didn’t get out, as the entire population of Tuolumne County would be pouring in hoping to discover more giant nuggets, they decided to strike out to Sonoran Camp to find Eddie Tremaine, the assayer with the best rates. Zelnora knew the assayers would just toss it into the melting pot along with the common gold, and as much as she wanted to keep the giant nugget, it was more imperative to have her own money to furnish the San Francisco house.
