Cabin Fever

But Cash did not take the challenge. "Did the report come?" he asked, as

though that was the only matter worth discussing.

Bud pulled the letter sullenly from his pocket and gave it to Cash. He

stood moodily waiting while Cash opened and read and returned it.

"Yeah. About what I thought--only it runs lighter in gold, with a higher

percentage of copper. It'll pay to go on and see what's at bed rock. If

the copper holds up to this all along, we'll be figuring on the gold to

pay for getting the copper. This is copper country, Bud. Looks like we'd

found us a copper mine." He turned and walked on beside Bud. "I dug in

to quite a rich streak of sand while you was gone," he volunteered after

a silence. "Coarse gold, as high as fifteen cents a pan. I figure we

better work that while the weather's good, and run our tunnel in on this

other when snow comes."

Bud turned his head and looked at Cash intently for a minute. "I've been

drunker'n a fool for three days," he announced solemnly.

"Yeah. You look it," was Cash's dry retort, while he stared straight

ahead, up the steep, shadowed trail.