"Fortune is against me," said Peabody. "I'm tired of River Bend."
Tom glanced at his companion. He could guess what was coming.
"Won't you take me with you, Tom?" entreated the young Bostonian.
"You must ask Mr. Ferguson. He is the head of our party."
Peabody looked appealingly towards Ferguson, but the Scotchman shook his head.
"You mustn't be offended, Mr. Peabody," he said, "when I tell you that you are responsible for your own bad luck. You have had just as good a chance as Tom or I."
"Your claim was better."
"There was no difference that I can see, except that we worked, and you didn't. You don't expect gold to come to you?"
"You and Tom are more used to hard work than I," murmured Peabody.
"If you did not feel able to work, you should not have come to California. A man must work harder here than at home, and then he stands a chance of succeeding better."