“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？“