"Is it wise to take the rascal with us?" Andrew asked.
"It seems the only thing to do. You don't want him to starve?"
"Certainly not; but couldn't we give him a few provisions and let him go?"
"If he had a little grub to go on with, he might catch a trout in the shallows or snare something that he could eat. Then he'd either follow us or join his friends and put them on our track. I prefer to have him under our eye."
"But he'll see where the lode is!"
"Sure! I'll take care he does no prospecting. Three claims on the best of the vein will give you all you want to work, and as soon as your record's filed you'll have prospectors coming up by dozens."
"Well," concluded Andrew, "you must do what you think fit."
They went back to the fire, and Carnally turned to the stranger.
"Your engagement begins to-morrow. If you do your work, you'll get your grub, and nothing else." Then he added: "If that doesn't seem good enough, you can quit when you like."
It was, as both recognized, an impossible alternative, because if the fellow left their service he must starve.