“Iwaslookingforajob。“
“Well，it’smostlycattledownhereinthePanamint，butsincethestrikeoveratGoldGulchsomeoftheboyshavegoneprospecting。There’sgoldinthemdamnPanamintMountains。Ifyoucanfindagoodlong’contact’ofcountryrocksyouain’tfarfromit。There’sacoupleoffellarsfromRedlandshaslocatedfourclaimsaroundGoldGulch。
Theygotaveineighteenincheswide，an’Peterssaysyoucantraceitformore’nathousandfeet。Wereyouthinkingofprospectingoverthere？“
“Well，well，Idon’know，Idon’know。“
“Well，I’mgoingovertotheothersideoftherangedayaftert’morrowaftersomeponiesofmine，an’I’mgoingtohavealookaround。Yousayyou’vebeenaminer？“
“Yes，yes。“
“Ifyou’regoingoverthatway，youmightcomealongandseeifwecan’tfindacontact，orcoppersulphurets，orsomething。Evenifwedon’tfindcolorwemayfindsilver-
bearinggalena。“Then，afterapause，“Let’ssee，Ididn’tcatchyourname。“
“Huh？Myname’sCarter，“answeredMcTeague，promptly。Whyheshouldchangehisnameagainthedentistcouldnotsay。
“Carter“cametohismindatonce，andheansweredwithoutreflectingthathehadregisteredas“Burlington“whenhehadarrivedatthehotel。
“Well，myname’sCribbens，“answeredtheother。Thetwoshookhandssolemnly。
“You’reaboutfinished？“continuedCribbens，pushingback。
“Le’sgooutinthebaran’haveadrinkonit。“
“Sure，sure，“saidthedentist。
ThetwosatuplatethatnightinacornerofthebarroomdiscussingtheprobabilityoffindinggoldinthePanaminthills。Itsoonbecameevidentthattheyhelddifferingtheories。McTeagueclungtotheoldprospector’sideathattherewasnowayoftellingwheregoldwasuntilyouactuallysawit。Cribbenshadevidentlyreadagoodmanybooksuponthesubject，andhadalreadyprospectedinsomethingofascientificmanner。
“Shucks！“heexclaimed。“Gi’mealongdistinctcontactbetweensedimentaryandigneousrocks，an’I’llsinkashaftwithouteverSEEING’color。’“
Thedentistputhishugechinintheair。“Goldiswhereyoufindit，“hereturned，doggedly。
“Well，it’smyideaashowpardnersoughttoworkalongdifferentlines，“saidCribbens。Hetuckedthecornersofhismustacheintohismouthandsuckedthetobaccojuicefromthem。Foramomenthewasthoughtful，thenheblewouthismustacheabruptly，andexclaimed：
“Say，Carter，le’smakeagoofthis。YougotalittlecashIsuppose——fiftydollarsorso？“
“Huh？Yes——I——I——“
“Well，Igotaboutfifty。We’llgopardnersontheproposition，an’we’lldally’roundtherangeyonderan’seewhatwecansee。Whatdoyousay？“
“Sure，sure，“answeredthedentist。
“Well，it’sagothen，hey？“
“That’stheword。“
“Well，le’shaveadrinkonit。“
Theydrankwithprofoundgravity。
TheyfittedoutthenextdayatthegeneralmerchandisestoreofKeeler——picks，shovels，prospectors’hammers，acoupleofcradles，pans，bacon，flour，coffee，andthelike，andtheyboughtaburroonwhichtopacktheirkit。
“Say，byjingo，youain’tgotahorse，“suddenlyexclaimedCribbensastheycameoutofthestore。“Youcan’tgetaroundthiscountrywithoutaponyofsomekind。“
Cribbensalreadyownedandrodeabuckskincayusethathadtobeknockedintheheadandstunnedbeforeitcouldbesaddled。“Igotanextrysaddlean’aheadstallatthehotelthatyoucanuse，“hesaid，“butyou’llhavetogetahorse。“
Intheendthedentistboughtamuleattheliverystableforfortydollars。Itturnedouttobeagoodbargain，however，forthemulewasagoodtravellerandseemedactuallytofattenonsage-brushandpotatoparings。Whentheactualtransactiontookplace，McTeaguehadbeenobligedtogetthemoneytopayforthemuleoutofthecanvassack。
Cribbenswaswithhimatthetime，andasthedentistunrolledhisblanketsanddisclosedthesack，whistledinamazement。
“An’measkingyouifyouhadfiftydollars！“heexclaimed。
“Youcarryyourminerightaroundwithyou，don’tyou？“
“Huh，Iguessso，“mutteredthedentist。“I——IjustsoldaclaimIhadupinElDoradoCounty，“headded。
Atfiveo’clockonamagnificentMaymorningthe“pardners“joggedoutofKeeler，drivingtheburrobeforethem。Cribbensrodehiscayuse，McTeaguefollowinginhisrearonthemule。
“Say，“remarkedCribbens，“whyinthunderdon’tyouleavethatfoolcanarybehindatthehotel？It’sgoingtobeinyourwayallthetime，an’itwillsuredie。Betterbreakitsneckan’chuckit。“
“No，no，“insistedthedentist。“I’vehadittoolong。I’lltakeitwithme。“
“Well，that’sthecraziestideaIeverheardof，“remarkedCribbens，“totakeacanaryalongprospecting。Whynotkidgloves，andbedonewithit？“
Theytravelledleisurelytothesoutheastduringtheday，followingawell-beatencattleroad，andthateveningcampedonaspurofsomehillsattheheadofthePanamintValleywheretherewasaspring。ThenextdaytheycrossedthePanamintitself。
“That’sasmartlookingvalley，“observedthedentist。
“NOWyou’retalkingstraighttalk，“returnedCribbens，suckinghismustache。Thevalleywasbeautiful，wide，level，andverygreen。Everywherewereherdsofcattle，scarcelylesswildthandeer。Onceortwicecowboyspassedthemontheroad，big-bonedfellows，picturesqueintheirbroadhats，hairytrousers，jinglingspurs，andrevolverbelts，surprisinglylikethepicturesMcTeaguerememberedtohaveseen。EveryoneofthemknewCribbens，andalmostinvariablyjoshedhimonhisventure。
“Say，Crib，ye’dbesttakeawagontrainwithyetobringyourdustback。“
Cribbensresentedtheirhumor，andaftertheyhadpassed，chewedfiercelyonhismustache。
“I’dliketomakeastrike，b’God！ifitwasonlytogetthelaughonthemjoshers。“
BynoontheywereclimbingtheeasternslopeofthePanamintRange。Longsincetheyhadabandonedtheroad；vegetationceased；notatreewasinsight。Theyfollowedfaintcattletrailsthatledfromonewaterholetoanother。Bydegreesthesewaterholesgrewdryeranddryer，andatthreeo’clockCribbenshaltedandfilledtheircanteens。
“Thereain’tanyTOOmuchwaterontheotherside，“heobservedgrimly。
“It’sprettyhot，“mutteredthedentist，wipinghisstreamingforeheadwiththebackofhishand。
“Huh！“snortedtheothermoregrimlythanever。Themotionlessairwaslikethemouthofafurnace。Cribbens’sponylatheredandpanted。McTeague’smulebegantodroophislongears。Onlythelittleburroploddedresolutelyon，pickingthetrailwhereMcTeaguecouldseebuttracklesssandandstuntedsage。TowardseveningCribbens，whowasinthelead，drewreinonthesummitofthehills。
BehindthemwasthebeautifulgreenPanamintValley，butbeforeandbelowthemformilesandmiles，asfarastheeyecouldreach，aflat，whitedesert，emptyevenofsage-brush，unrolledtowardthehorizon。Intheimmediateforegroundabrokensystemofarroyos，andlittlecanyonstumbleddowntomeetit。Tothenorthfaintbluehillsshoulderedthemselvesabovethehorizon。
“Well，“observedCribbens，“we’reonthetopofthePanamintRangenow。It’salongthiseasternslope，rightbelowushere，thatwe’regoingtoprospect。GoldGulch“——hepointedwiththebuttofhisquirt——“isabouteighteenornineteenmilesalongheretothenorthofus。ThosehillswayoveryondertothenortheastaretheTelescopehills。“
“Whatdoyoucallthedesertoutyonder？“McTeague’seyeswanderedovertheillimitablestretchofalkalithatstretchedoutforeverandforevertotheeast，tothenorth，andtothesouth。
“That，“saidCribbens，“that’sDeathValley。“
Therewasalongpause。Thehorsespantedirregularly，thesweatdrippingfromtheirheavingbellies。Cribbensandthedentistsatmotionlessintheirsaddles，lookingoutoverthatabominabledesolation，silent，troubled。
“God！“ejaculatedCribbensatlength，underhisbreath，withashakeofhishead。Thenheseemedtorousehimself。
“Well，“heremarked，“firstthingwegottodonowistofindwater。“
Thiswasalonganddifficulttask。Theydescendedintoonelittlecanyonafteranother，followedthecourseofnumberlessarroyos，andevendugwherethereseemedindicationsofmoisture，alltonopurpose。ButatlengthMcTeague’smuleputhisnoseintheairandblewonceortwicethroughhisnostrils。
“Smellsit，thesonofagun！“exclaimedCribbens。Thedentistlettheanimalhavehishead，andinafewminuteshehadbroughtthemtothebedofatinycanyonwhereathinstreamofbrackishwaterfilteredoveraledgeofrocks。
“We’llcamphere，“observedCribbens，“butwecan’tturnthehorsesloose。We’llhavetopicket’emwiththelariats。I
sawsomeloco-weedbackhereapiece，andiftheygettoeatingthat，they’llsuregoplumcrazy。Theburrowon’teatit，butIwouldn’ttrusttheothers。“
AnewlifebeganforMcTeague。Afterbreakfastthe“pardners“separated，goinginoppositedirectionsalongtheslopeoftherange，examiningrocks，pickingandchippingatledgesandbowlders，lookingforsigns，prospecting。
McTeaguewentupintothelittlecanyonswherethestreamshadcutthroughthebedrock，searchingforveinsofquartz，breakingoutthisquartzwhenhehadfoundit，pulverizingandpanningit。Cribbenshuntedfor“contacts，“closelyexaminingcountryrocksandout-crops，continuallyonthelookoutforspotswheresedimentaryandigneousrockcametogether。
Oneday，afteraweekofprospecting，theymetunexpectedlyontheslopeofanarroyo。Itwaslateintheafternoon。
“Hello，pardner，“exclaimedCribbensashecamedowntowhereMcTeaguewasbendingoverhispan。“Whatluck？“
Thedentistemptiedhispanandstraightenedup。“Nothing，nothing。Youstruckanything？“