Twenty one The quads had struck gold. They'd been prospecting up past the hot spring and had actually found something. It was an oddly-shaped nugget, flattened on one side, and it glowed in the sunlight as it lay in the swift running stream. They foraged around for ages but just got muddy so, disheartened, they made their way back into town. Their first stop was the schoolmaster; he looked the nugget over and agreed that, yes, it looked like gold to him, too. He'd mention it in this Sunday's paper. Suitably encouraged, the quads went off to the Mouse Training School and hung around until their father was available. He was most excited by the find and immediately started making plans for an expedition of his own to see if he would be lucky too. Once Sunday's paper came out there was no stopping them. People were coming into town from all over Vochovia to see if any more gold had been found and things were starting to get pretty rowdy. It wasn't like anyone needed the money; it was the excitement of being in at the start of a gold rush that had them all on tenterhooks. The encyclopaedia was in great demand as people looked up the best methods of prospecting and found out what equipment they needed. In the end the Army came out to calm things down and everyone agreed to wait until the following week before setting out. Rusty heard the news - no-one ever knew how - and flew in a couple of days later, with a couple of crumpled little men who described themselves as "Originals" and some girls who were wearing so little that it was a wonder to everyone that they didn't catch their death. On arrival they announced that they were there to work in the saloon (although the ladies of the Vochovian Women's Institute were quick to point out that there not only wasn't one but there wasn't going to be one.) While the VWI lectured Rusty on the virtues of making one's own entertainment, the men stood behind and shrugged, wishing they'd be given the chance. The girls were given medication for the sore throats they were sure to have, and nice woollen underwear to keep out any draughts. They were so taken by the treatment that they received that they decided to stay and open a teashop instead. The "Originals" stood in the square and declaimed for hours about gold strikes they had nearly seen or heard about fourth hand; the townsfolk stood agog at these tales of adventure and more than a little imagination. A crowd gathered each evening to listen until Saturday morning dawned and almost the entire population was ready to go up into the hills to see what they could find. The "Originals" were tremendously excited; they might actually see some gold this time rather than telling tall stories in exchange for bed and board like they had for the last twenty years. It was purely coincidental that Rusty happened to be chatting to the schoolmaster when the quads came in. Of course they had the nugget with them; it was their good luck charm and they would never part with it. They would be happy for Rusty to see it. He looked; he looked a bit closer; he shuffled his foot and cleared his throat then said, "I'm afraid I've got bad news. The nugget's mine." The assembled crowd were close enough to be craning their necks for a peep at the treasure and Rusty was loud enough to be heard by many. There were several agitated responses from the crowd, and the mice that had equipped themselves for prospecting banged their little shovels on the ground to show their displeasure. He went on, "You see, what happened was