NUGGETS IN MY POCKET

Since we called Gold Dust and Petticoats (1964) a ""worn-out story"" we opened this one with a bored sense of deja-vu. Once again this describes the 1850 arrival of the Miller family into San Francisco. Gold Dust specified Marcy Miller's adventures, Nuggets follows her lame brother Jeb, who runs away to the gold fields. There is some moderately interesting detailing of the techniques of gathering gold, and Jeb manages to attain his quota through a reasonable amount of hard work. He has difficulty only when he runs into that shifty-looking Elmer Potts, which, small world that it is, he frequently does. Elmer puts Jeb in a bad light with his friends, steals Jeb's beloved horse, and is responsible for putting the Millers' friend Jake into jail in an attempt to steal Jake's valuable claim. This isn't quite as melodramatic as Gold Dust, but the characters are stereotyped and the path to the gold fields is well-beaten. Unless some long lost relatives show up, this should finish the tinsellated saga of the Miller family, which can now be shared--or more probably overlooked--by both girls and boys.