upon him.

All of this the colonel had observed and noted with grim satisfaction.
Not once did he speak until he saw that all was well.

"I am sorry," he said at length in a voice almost as delicate as the
voice of Lou Macon. "I am sorry, but you forced me to say more than I
wished to say."

Donnegan brushed the apology aside.

His voice became low and hurried. "Let us get on in the matter. I am
eager to learn from you, colonel."

"Very well. Since it seems that there is a place for both our interests
in this matter, I shall run on in my tale and make it, as I promised you
before, absolutely frank and curt. I shall not descend into small
details. I shall give you a main sketch of the high points; for all men
of mind are apt to be confused by the face of a thing, whereas the heart
of it is perfectly clear to them."

He settled into his narrative.

"You have heard of The Corner? No? Well, that is not strange; but a few
weeks ago gold was found in the sands where the valleys of Young Muddy
and Christobel Rivers join. The Corner is a long, wide triangle of sand,
and the sand is filled with a gold deposit brought down from the
headwaters of both rivers and precipitated here, where one current meets
the other and reduces the resultant stream to sluggishness. The sands
are rich--very rich!"