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The placers near Bannack caught a wild set of men, who surged back from California. Oro Fino was a temporary capital; then the fabulously rich placer which made Alder Gulch one of the quickly perished but still unforgotten diggings. The flat valley of this latter gulch housed several "towns," but was really for a dozen miles a continuous string of miners' cabins.

Small as was the garrison, and few as were the neighboring ranches, there was generally business enough to support two card rooms, one for officers and the "gente fino" the trader, his partner, the chief packer, forage master, and an occasional rancher or prospector; the other, a big one, and often a riotous, for the soldiery, scouts, packers and riffraff of the frontier, and for this establishment Bennett's dago had an indescribable fascination.

Nicholas, "within sight of the snow-capped peaks of the Apennines, in an old palace, the Villa de Franchi, immediately overlooking the Mediterranean, with olive-clad hills at the back; on the left, the great promontory of Porto Fino; on the right, the Bay of Genoa, some twelve miles away, and the long line of the Apennines sloping down into the sea.

The searchers, therefore, were directed to beat up the near-by country. To Billy Brue was allotted the easiest as being the most probable route. He was to follow up Paddle Creek to Four Forks, thence over the Bitter Root trail to Eden, on to Oro Fino, and up over Little Pass to Hellandgone. He was to proceed slowly, to be alert for signs along the way, and to make inquiries of all he met.

Petulengro stopped short, and looked at it stedfastly: "Fino covar dove odoy sas miro a fine thing were that if it were but mine!" he exclaimed. "If you covet it," said I, "why do you not purchase it?" "We low 'Gyptians never buy animals of that description; if we did we could never sell them, and most likely should be had up as horse-stealers."

"Questo vino è bello e fino, È portato da Castel Perini, Faccio brindisi alla Signora Ermini," continued Gaspare, joyously, and with an obvious pride in his poetical powers. They all drank simultaneously, Lucrezia spluttering a little out of shyness. "Monte Amato, Gaspare, not Castel Perini. But that doesn't rhyme, eh? Bravo! But we must drink, too." Gaspare hastened to fill two more glasses.

So the flood of gold-seekers passing north into the Fraser River country, south again into Oregon and Washington, and across the great desert plains into Nevada and Idaho made new centers of lurid activity, such as Oro Fino, Florence, and Carson. Then it was that Walla Walla and Lewiston, outfitting points on the western side of the range, found place upon the maps of the land, such as they were.

So the rani del the Rommany chal a sonnakai ora an' a fino gry. But yeck koshter that poggers a hev doesn't muller a juckal. So the lady gave the Gipsy a gold watch and a good horse. But every stick that breaks a window does not kill a dog.

"Pan fino, pan bianco!" screams the baker; and other cries from the vendors of atole, huevos, and leche, are uttered in shrill, discordant voices. Such are the voices of a Mexican plaza. They are at first interesting. They become monotonous, then disagreeable; until at length I am tortured, and listen to them with a feverish excitement.

"Now it's our turn," cried Hermione. "Questo vino è bello e fino, È portato da Castello a mare, Faccio brindisi al Signor Gaspare." The boys burst into a hearty laugh, and Gaspare's eyes gleamed with pleasure while Hermione and Maurice drank. Then Sebastiano drew from the inner pocket of his old jacket a little flute, smiling with an air of intense and comic slyness which contorted his face.