"Have you?"
"No, Ernest. You've got me there. I am only a hunter, but I don't make much of a living. I don't recommend you to follow in my steps. I'd like to keep you with me, but it wouldn't pay you."
"One thing is certain, Luke. I must get away from here. There is nothing I can do in Oak Forks."
"Where do you want to go, lad?"
"I don't know. I might go eastward to Chicago or New York, or I might go West to California. Have you ever been to either place, Luke?"
"No, lad, but if I had my choice I'd go westward. I've heard fine stories of California. I think I should like to see that land, and push on to the Pacific ocean."
"Why don't you go?"
"Stop a minute! Let me think!"
The hunter assumed a thoughtful look. He remained silent for five minutes. Then he said, as if to himself, "Why not?"
Ernest still kept silence, but his eyes were fixed upon the face of the hunter.