“Shall we take supper at the hotel?” asked Grant. “How much do they charge?”

“Two dollars a day for meals and lodging¹.”

“Isn’t that considerable?” asked Grant, rather dismayed.

“Yes, if one only earns fifty cents,” answered Tom, smiling.

“Do you like sleeping in such a crowd, Tom?”

“No; but there seems no other way, unless I bought a cabin, and I should feel too lonely.”

“But now there are two of us together. Why can’t we hire a cabin, and lodge² and eat independently? We can take turns in doing the cooking, and it will be a good deal cheaper.”

“Do you know anything about cooking, Grant? I don’t.”

206“Yes; I took some lessons at the restaurant. I can teach you all I know myself.”

“Then we can establish ourselves to-morrow. There is a deserted³ cabin a little way up the gulch⁴, which no one seems to care to occupy. It is in fair condition, and the last occupant kept house, so that there are dishes and cooking utensils⁵. We can take possession, and then, if any one disputes our right, we can agree to pay rent.”

“That will be capital,” said Grant, in a tone of satisfaction.

For a month Grant and Tom Cooper worked assiduously, sometimes at one claim, sometimes at the other. The life of a miner is full of excitement. Even when he meets with poor luck, there is the prospect⁶ every day of making a rich find. But in the case of the two friends it was always hope deferred⁷. At the end of the month they sat down to consider the situation.

“Well, Grant, we don’t seem to get much richer,” said Tom, taking a whiff from a clay pipe, which was his evening luxury after a hard day’s work.

207“We made fifty cents yesterday,” responded Grant soberly.

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