“Nay, nay; the three I said will do for a beginning. If neither of them turns out right we’ll begin on one of the others. Say, we give two or three years apiece to the first lot. We’ve plenty of time, as aforesaid.”
“Then you are going to set aside nine years of our lives to begin with, and when they are gone—wasted—begin another nine years?”
“Time won’t be wasted, doctor; we shall have found out something or another.”
“The question seems to me,” said Bourne, “is it worth the trouble?”
“If we’d got to spend nine more years in making a fortune here, doctor, we shouldn’t think the time too long.”
“Perhaps not.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be in getting the gold, even if it took nine years, and if we’re lucky it mightn’t take nine months. It’s all chance whether we hit on the right trail to begin with or at the last.”
“It’s a wild and desperate adventure,” said the doctor sternly, “and only excusable on the ground that we have wasted years upon this plantation and are now in a desperate state.”
“Oh, don’t call it desperate, doctor. We’re going on a job that’s going to be full of fun. We’ve only got to hold together pluckily to do it. Why, it’s as easy as easy.”
“To go and seek blindly through three great States for the spot delineated on this rough map?” cried Bourne.