People crowded the platform of a railway station as the afternoon train pulled into Morning, Washington in 1904. A newly painted sign on the general store announced the opening of a dealership for horseless carriages in the bustling town. At the edge of Morning there was a large cliff. Its steep face cast a shadow on the stream below. A tent was pitched beside the creek where a prospector stood. He carved a wooden figure of himself and his horse. Wood shavings floated down stream under the horse drinking in the water. Suddenly the horse stomped its hooves. The prospector put away the statue and pulled out his gold pan. The man sifted through the stream bed where the horse pointed. He found a glittering gold nugget. The prospector told his horse things were going to change for them now that they could settle in this place.

Men with rifles appeared as a motor buggy drove up the trail above the stream. A wealthy-looking man climbed out of the touring car. He pulled a deed for the town from his pocket. He proclaimed that he had bought the entire town of Morning so the prospector was trespassing. The armed men searched the prospector's vest and took out the woodcarving and gold nugget. The wood figure was thrown into the water where it wedged between two stones. The gold nugget was given to the landowner. The rich man said they were going to blast a mine in the far side of the cliff and the prospector needed to clear out of there. The swindler pointed to his automobile while he told the prospector that it was a new age. The gold panner's way of life did not exist anymore. He was a ghost.

The prospector patted his horse as he said, "If being a ghost means that you are in a place you do not belong or not wanted, then I guess we have been ghosts all our lives."

The wealthy man impatiently turned to leave. As he sped off in the vehicle he instructed his men to begin blasting the mineshaft. The prospector's horse was stubborn and would not leave. There was a loud explosion behind the cliff. Rocks slid down the steep hillside above the stream. The man climbed on his horse. They raced out of the creek but falling stones rained down on them. The prospector and his horse were buried in a landslide.