it of a job over, and it seems to me as plain as A
B C."

"Indeed!" said the doctor, smiling. "How do you make that out?"

"This way. We've got the map of the part where it is."

"Certainly, and all we've got to find out is whereabouts that part
lies."

"Of course: and there lies the difficulty."

"Difficulty, doctor? Not it. Now, just look here. We've got, say,
three States where it's likely to be. Say, at a guess, Colorado,
Arizona, and New Mexico."

"Oh yes, and California, Texas, and you can join on Old Mexico."

"Nay, nay; the three I said will do for a beginning. If neither of them
turns out right we'll begin on one of the others. Say, we give two or
three years apiece to the first lot. We've plenty of time, as
aforesaid."

"Then you are going to set aside nine years of our lives to begin with,
and when they are gone--wasted--begin another nine years?"

"Time won't be wasted, doctor; we shall have found out something or
another."

"The question seems to me," said Bourne, "is it worth the trouble?"

"If we'd got to spend nine more years in making a fortune here, doctor,
we shouldn't think the time too long."

"Perhaps not."

"Well, it wouldn't be in getting the gold, even if it took nine years,
and if we're lucky it mightn't take nine months. It's all chance
whether we hit on the right trail to begin with or at the last."

"It's a wild and desperate adventure," said the doctor sternly, "and
only excusable on the ground that we have wasted years upon this
plantation and are now in a desperate state."

"Oh, don't call it desperate, doctor. We're going on a job that's going
to be full of fun. We've only got to hold together pluckily to do it.
Why, it's as easy as easy."

"To go and seek blindly through three great States for the spot
delineated on this rough map?" cried Bourne.

"We shan't go blindly, sir; you may depend on that. We shall keep our
eyes open pretty wide," said Griggs, with a merry look at the boys.
"Now, look here, gentlemen, I tell you I've been thinking all this out,
and it seems to me that we can cut it all down into a small patch."

"How?" said the doctor.

"By getting rid of all the outside useless bits of the job."

"I don't understand you," cried Wilton. "Hard or easy, I've made up my
mind to see the thing through; but just explain a little more what you
mean, Griggs."

"That's right enough, sir; I will. Now, look here; we've got our map,
or plan, or wh