t pocket.

"I thought this might interest you," he said, "so I brought it along.
That's me!"

He put his finger on one of the figures in the picture that he handed
to the prospector. It showed a young fellow, bearded, in the typical
Australian digger's rig-out, panning gold. The photograph was an old
one, evidently, and there was no doubt that it was a resemblance of
Owens in his youth.

"Ay, it's you," said Jim.

For some minutes there was silence. The mine-owner let the prospector
think the matter out in his own way. Finally, with an air of desperate
determination, Jim began:

"I'm gettin' old, now, an' times has changed since I found that ore. I
ain't never give up hope of gettin' back there, but it don't look like
it, now. I ain't the man I was. This last spell has crippled me up,
pretty bad, too. I ain't never goin' to be right husky, again. The
doctor says so."

"You can have a job above ground, here, as long as you want to."

Jim nodded appreciation of the offer.

"That's a square deal," he admitted. "But," he went on viciously,
"I've had enough o' coal. I don't want to see a bit o' coal again,
long's I live! I want to get back to God's country."

"Which is?"

"Where I found that!" replied Jim, evasively.

Owens made no protest. He kept silent, being sure that his companion
would go on to talk.

"I'm gettin' old," Jim repeated, after a while, "an' it takes two
things to get where I found that ore--a tough constitution an' money.
I got neither. It's a job for a young fellow."

"I'm not much younger than you are," suggested Owens.

"Clem is."

"Well?"

"But he hasn't got any more money'n I have."

The mine-owner bent a level glance at the old prospector.

"Don't beat about the bush so much, Jim. If you don't want to say
anything, why, drop the whole business. If you have anything to say,
spit it out! You want me to grub-stake you? Is that it?"

"Me an' Clem. I won't do nothin' without Clem. A man has to have a
pardner."

"I've no objection to Clem. On the contrary. But I don't grub-stake a
man just because he shows me a bit of ore! I've been in the game too
long for that. How do I know where that gold comes from? It might have
been picked up from some mine now working at full blast. As for the
gold-dust--why, it would be queer if you hadn't found some of it,
somewhere.

"No," he went on, anticipating Jim's interruption, "I'm going to do
the talking for a minute. You wanted to be sure I