"I'm gettin' old, now, an' times has changed since I found that ore. I ain't never give up hope of gettin' back there, but it don't look like it, now. I ain't the man I was. This last spell has crippled me up, pretty bad, too. I ain't never goin' to be right husky, again. The doctor says so."
"You can have a job above ground, here, as long as you want to."
Jim nodded appreciation of the offer.
"That's a square deal," he admitted. "But," he went on viciously, "I've had enough o' coal. I don't want to see a bit o' coal again, long's I live! I want to get back to God's country."
"Which is?"
"Where I found that!" replied Jim, evasively.
Owens made no protest. He kept silent, being sure that his companion would go on to talk.
"I'm gettin' old," Jim repeated, after a while, "an' it takes two things to get where I found that ore—a tough constitution an' money. I got neither. It's a job for a young fellow."
"I'm not much younger than you are," suggested Owens.
"Clem is."