“Humph! That won’t be long, unless you got in mind somethin’ like you did at the Donner Placers, down in the Providence Mountains.”
“Friend, what do you know about that?” queried Adam.
“Nothin’. I only heard about it.... Wansfell, do you pan any gold?”
“Sometimes, when I happen to run across it,” replied Adam, “but that isn’t often.”
“Do you work?”
“Yes, I’ve worked a good deal, taking it all together. In the mines, on the river at Needles, driving mule teams and guiding wagon trains. Never got paid much, though.”
“How do you live?” asked Dismukes, evidently curious.
“Oh, I fare well enough to keep flesh on my bones.”
“You’ve got flesh—or I reckon it’s muscle. Wansfell, you’re the best-built man I ever saw on the desert. Most men dry up an’ blow away.... Will you let me give you—lend you some money?”
“Money! So that’s why you’re so curious?” responded Adam. “Thanks, my friend. I don’t need money. I had some, you know, when you ran across me down in the Chocolates. I used about a thousand dollars while I lived with the Coahuila Indians. And I’ve got nine thousand left.”