They all went over to the hole in the ground and Mr. Waterman looked over the quartz that had been taken out. "I have no doubt that this is platinum," said he at last. "I may be mistaken, but I hardly think so."
"Let's hustle back and get out of Tadousac right away and put in a claim," said Bill.
"Now, don't hurry. It will keep, no doubt," said Mr. Waterman. "In any case, it will not be necessary for all of us to go to Tadousac. I would suggest that Mr. Anderson and Bill take the back trail and get out to Tadousac in due time and put in a claim for the mine in the name of Pud, Bill and Bob."
"Not on your life," said Bob. "You and Mr. Anderson are in on this as we would never have come had it not been for you. In addition, you would have been sure to discover the mine yourself before the afternoon is over."
Bob spoke with such sincerity and he was backed up by the two other boys so earnestly that at last Mr. Anderson and Mr. Waterman gave in and consented to be given a share in the mine.
"Now don't go building any great castles in the air," said Mr. Anderson. "We may be mistaken and this quartz practically worthless."
"I'll wager that that German knew what he was doing," said Bob. "Mr. Waterman thought that he was from the west by the way he knew the woods and woodcraft and I bet he did not dig that big hole himself without feeling that he had something worth while."
"You are probably right," said Mr. Waterman. "But here is another thought. If we put in a claim for this gulch, we may have a hundred mining sharks down here right away and that would spoil the whole thing, especially if there is more of the stuff."
"Well, let's lay claim to the whole gulch," said Mr. Anderson. "I'll give them the impression that we are buying this gulch because it is so picturesque and centrally located."
"You may be able to get away with it if you go about it carefully," said Mr. Waterman.