"That is my misfortune and Mappin's fault. But you must have your supper, and then we'll talk."
Carnally glanced at Andrew, who had thrown off his pack and sat down on it in an attitude of exhaustion.
"Allinson allowed we'd be back to-night, and he hustled me along pretty lively for a tenderfoot."
They laughed at this and began the meal which Graham soon had ready. Then, sitting close beside the fire, they filled their pipes and Graham carefully examined the bits of stone Carnally produced. He poised them in his hands, because the weight is a rough test, before he looked up.
"What do you think of them, Jake?" he asked.
"My idea is that they're pretty good, though they are not carrying a remarkable quantity of metal. Of course, we may have struck only the edge of the lode. There wasn't time to find how it ran."
Graham sat silent a while, and then turned to Andrew with a strained expression.
"I agree with Carnally. So far as I can judge, these specimens are not very rich, though the ore might pay for reduction. That I feel disappointed after waiting twenty years for this chance doesn't need saying; but I've brought you here at a big expense and risk and I can't blame you if you let the matter drop."
"Nothing is farther from my mind," declared Andrew, smiling. "It's unpleasant to feel beaten; and I'm partly responsible for our failure by confiding in Mappin. If you and Carnally still think I'm to be trusted as a partner, we'll come back again, though I'd prefer waiting until the ice breaks up in the spring."
Graham's relief carried him away.