“You didn’t need to tell me that,” the old man was beginning; but just as he got that far, there came a shout and a rifle shot from the gulch, and they all looked out to see a bunch of mounted men riding out upon the tailings of the flood wash. “There’s yer uncle and his posse,” said the grim old prospector whom Dick had made rich by a simple little blowpipe test. “They must ’a’ been follerin’ right along behind me. I blazed my trail so they wouldn’t have no trouble tellin’ which-a-way to come. Reckon we’d better be climbin’ down. You boys’ve gone a long time a-waitin’ for yer breakfast.”
An hour later, when the three defenders of the Golden Spider had put away a meal big enough to fill up all the crevices opened by their missed breakfast, and had told Mr. William Starbuck in detail all that had happened to them in their wonderful summer, the shrewd-eyed ex-cattleman put his arm over Dick’s shoulder and said:
“Well, you’ve had good times, and some pretty tough times, but I guess you’ve all grown a good bit since you left Brewster in June. You all look it, anyway. And I want to congratulate the three of you on the find you’ve made, and upon the way you held on and defended it after you’d got it. Not many fellows of your age and experience would have stood up to those three rascals as you did, especially after they gave you a chance to duck and run.
“Now about your summer’s work; that is satisfactory, too. Even if only one of the rare-metal prospects you have staked out proves to be worth working, you will have earned your grub-stake many times over. As for this gold mine up yonder in the cliff, you may leave that to us. We’ll see to it that it is properly guarded, and recorded in your names as discoverers, and your father and I, Dick, will undertake to find the capital for working it, the money to be paid back out of the earnings of the mine when it gets to be a going proposition. But there is one thing about that: don’t get your ideas too high up. Old Uncle Jimmie Brock’s Golden Spider may prove to be a bonanza and make all three of you rich; and, on the other hand, it may be only a pocket deposit that will merely pay back the development capital. Keep that in mind and don’t spend your money until you get it.”
“Then you meant what you said—about giving the mine to us?” Dick asked.
“Certainly I did. A bargain is a bargain. And it’s your discovery as much as any other lode would be. I only hope it won’t spoil you if it turns out to be a bonanza.”
Larry looked at Purdick, and little Purdick handed the look back. And it was Purdick who made answer.
“Larry and Dick will tell you, Mr. Starbuck, that I was mighty nearly an anarchist when they brought me out here last June,” he said steadily. “I used to believe there weren’t any good rich people in the world. I’m wondering what will happen to me if it should turn out that I’ve got to get over on the other side of the fence.”
“Nothing bad will happen to you, I’m sure,” was the kindly reply. “Money isn’t everything; it isn’t anything compared with what’s inside of the man who has it—or hasn’t it. If you’ve had hard times, you’ll be better able to feel for and to help other fellows who are having hard times. You’ll know what it means to them, better than either Dick or Larry, here.
“Now about your plans. You have only a few days left before you will have to start back to college. You’ve finished your job out here, so you may as well start for Natrolia at once. We’ll outfit you for the one night’s camp you’ll have to make and you can take the burro you have left to carry your provisions. I don’t want to hurry you off, but the folks in Brewster will be mighty anxious until they hear from you. If you start now, you can make the top of the range by nightfall.”