I asked, "How do you mean?"
"Stuff that will bring money back on Earth," Pearce said. "Gold, for example."
For some reason which I couldn't explain just then, I found myself clutching eagerly at the thought. "It's possible," I said. "We've hardly scratched the surface as yet."
Pearce gazed searchingly at me for a moment. Finally he asked, "What was your motive for accompanying this expedition, Farris? To advance the cause of science? Or what?"
"Why ... to get some profit out of it." The reason which had puzzled me was suddenly clear. I recalled abruptly the hopes and dreams I'd had, overlooked in the wonders of exploration.
Pearce nodded. "Exactly. And the same applies to me." His tone became bitter. "Being famous in your chosen line of work is nice, but it doesn't buy you much. At least, it doesn't buy the things that really matter. Newscast blurbs, banquet invitations, and honorary memberships hardly provide the fancy style of living they suggest. Awards and prizes are too small and too far between to build a complete, private laboratory."
I said, "And that's what you want?"
"That's what I intend to get, somehow," Pearce said. He studied me again. "What about you, Farris? What's your ambition?"
"Financial independence, mainly. There are certain ideas that I'd like to work on. I'd never get the time or the money while earning a living as assistant to a man like Durwent."
"Then this might be the chance we both need. If we could turn up something valuable, like the Mars explorers did...." Pearce nibbled his lip, frowning intently over the thought. Abruptly he grabbed my arm. "Farris, we've got to find something! Look—suppose we forget the scientific side of the expedition? Suppose we make it an outright treasure hunt?"