Just my luck!"
"So did I," said Clapp, "but I fared no better. It seemed as if
Fortune had a spite against me. Here I am twenty-five years old, and
all I'm worth is two dollars and a half, and I owe more than that to
the tailor."
"You're as rich as I am," said Luke. "I only get fourteen dollars a
week. That's less than you do."
"A dollar more or less don't amount to much," said Clapp. "I'll tell
you what it is, Luke," he resumed after a pause, "I'm getting sick of
Centreville."
"So am I," said Luke, "but it don't make much difference. If I had
fifty dollars, I'd go off and try my luck somewhere else, but I'll
have to wait till I'm gray-headed before I get as much as that."
"Can't you borrow it?"
"Who'd lend it to me?"
"I don't know. If I did, I'd go in for borrowing myself. I wish
there was some way of my getting to California."
"California!" repeated Luke with interest. "What would you do there?"
"I'd go to the mines."
"Do you think there's money to be made there?"
"I know there is," said Clapp, emphatically.
"How do you know it?"
"There's an old school-mate of mine--Ralph Smith--went out there two
years ago. Last week he returned home--I heard it in a letter--and
how much do you think he brought with him?"
"How much?"
"Eight thousand dollars!"
"Eight thousand dollars! He didn't make it all at the mines, did he?"
"Yes, he did.
Pages:
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113