"It's better than going home like a tramp. It's strange how much more people think of you when you're worth a little property. And I don't know but they're right. To get money, I mean honestly, a man must have some brains, and he must be willing to work. How much money do you think I had when I arrived here?"
"I don't know."
"Eighteen dollars. It was grit or brains with me, I can tell you. Eben here wasn't much better off."
"Not so well. I only had nine dollars."
"And now we've got eight thousand apiece. That'll make us comfortable for a while, eh, Eben?"
"For life, Rawson. I shall never come back here, but settle down at home, where people will call me a rich man."
"I can't answer for myself. How is it with you, Dean?"
"I shall come back," said Dean, positively. "There's very little chance for me in Waterford."
"Well, perhaps you are right. You'll have a fair start, and you're industrious and enterprising."
They stopped in Denver on their way home, and called at the office of the agent through whom their claims had been sold.