The man evidently had always been somewhat frail, and now he was past his prime; indulgence in deleterious whisky had further shaken him.

He could not chop or ply the shovel, and it was with difficulty that his companions had borne his cooking, while it seemed scarcely likely that anybody would have much use for him in a country that is run by the young and strong.

He sat still regarding the money ruefully.
"Six of them--and they charge you one for a meal and a drink or two," he said.

"If I hadn't known where there was quartz streaked right through with wire gold I might have felt discouraged." Then he straightened himself resolutely.

"Seems to me it's time I went up and looked for it again." "How can you know where it is when you have to look for it ?" the other man inquired.
Grenfell glanced at him severely.
"I'm not drunk--it's my knees," he pointed out.