"Look—that's where our home will be."
She lifted her head and followed the directing finger. The old man stood beside them also gazing down.
"It's a grand sight," he said. "But it's as yellow as the desert. Must be almighty dry."
"There's plenty of water," said Courant. "Rivers come out of these mountains and go down there into the plain. And they carry the gold, the gold that's going to make us rich."
He pressed her shoulder with his encircling arm and she answered dreamily:
"We are rich enough."
He thought she alluded to the Doctor's money that was hidden in the wagon.
"But we'll be richer. We've got here before the rest of 'em. We're the first comers and it's ours. You'll be queen here, Susan. I'll make you one." His glance ranged over the splendid prospect, eager with the man's desire to fight and win for his own. She thought little of what he said, lost in her perfect content.
"When we've got the gold we'll take up land and I'll build a house for you, a good house, my wife won't live in a tent. It'll be of logs, strong and water tight, and as soon as they bring things in—and the ships will be coming soon—we'll furnish it well. And that'll be only the beginning."
"Where will we build it?" she said, catching his enthusiasm and straining her eyes as if then and there to pick out the spot.