The Icelandic Canadian - 01.03.1955, Qupperneq 38

36
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
Spring 1955
vein as best they could. They sought
its windings near the surface; and
drilled through a hundred-foot rock-
wall to search out its hide-out. They
missed it entirely; and hit it again,
broader and thicker, pursuing its vag-
aries to the very end, where it nar-
rowed to seeming obscurity at the
lakeshore.
When they rested, Bill sat silent,
thinking. Sometimes, the song of wood-
land lovers brought again the vision
of the girl. He thought how, when the
mine was sold, he could go to her with
his wealth and love.
Then one day Matt Kern dropped
from the skies. They heaped the
freight compartment with core to be
assayed at the Company lab, and Bill
fiew in to Steel with him.
While he waited for results, he
sought out Sam Greenback. The gentle
tapping of the typewriter ceased as he
entered the office. He caught the glint
of golden hair. Then the girl turned
her dazzling smile on him.
“Hello, Bill. It’s good to see you
again,” she greeted.
“It’s good to be out of the sticks,”
Bill retorted.
His heart skipped a beat. She was
real; and she was even more beautiful
than he had visioned. But she was
working for Sam Greenback. That’s
why she had not written.
He controlled his tinge of jealousy,
and took the big chair Greenback of-
fered.
“I have been drilling my claims at
Prospector Lake,” he announced. “The
assay will tell the tale.”
He tossed some choice samples of
core on the table.
“Good copper-nickel showings,” he
boasted.
The mining magnate examined the
samples closely.
“Every day or so some fellow thinks
he has a mine,” he said sourly. “They
bring their samples, and waste our
time. But this looks good. If your as-
says come up to expectations I’ll make
you an offer.”
“If it’s as good as that sample indi-
cates, it should bring a fortune,” Bill
chuckled.
They discussed relative values in a
lot of prospector jargon. Then Bill
rose to go. Already Lila had her
jacket on to join him.
Bill laughed confidently. Sam Green-
back was interested. The thought
pleased him, and, as he walked down
Main Street with Lila Woods, he was
up in the clouds.
He began to take notice of the dis-
plays in the shop windows.
“Now just what would a man do
with a fortune?” Lila asked.
Bill rekindled his cigarette with a
few vigorous puffs. He stopped specula-
tively before an Airways office.
“Travel,” he said. “Or even buy his
own plane. — And re-invest a little in
the rocks.”
“That sounds interesting,” Lila com-
mented. “Would you carry passengers?”
“One. I know a girl to take around
the world with me. Would you come?”
Bill searched her face as he spoke.
Lila’s laughter rippled softly like a
trilling robin.
“I’ve always wanted to see all the
far places,” she said. “But first---”
“A lunch,” Bill suggested.
He was still indulging in visions of
opulence several hours later when he
mounted the stairs to his hotel room,
and caught sight of the special-delivery
letter.
“The assay”, he thought triumphant-
ly, tearing open the envelope. Then
he stared in shocked disbelief. Elis
mine had fallen down.
There was mineral; but the averaged
values were far below the require-