In one month John Ball and his companions had gathered twenty-seven pounds of it, a fortune of nearly seven thousand dollars! And they had gathered it here! Eagerly he scooped up a fresh pan of the precious earth.

He heard the swish-swish of the water in Wabigoon's and Mukoki's pans.

But beyond this there were no sounds made by them.
In these first minutes of treasure seeking no words were spoken.

Who would give the first shout of discovery?
Five minutes, ten, fifteen of them passed, and Rod found no gold.

As he emptied his pan he saw Wabi scooping up fresh dirt.