"Railroad work isn't mine digging," objected Mr. Dunlop.

"I'm aware of that, sir," Tom agreed. "Yet boring is largely
excavation work; so is tunneling. We've had charge of considerable
excavating in our services to railroads."

"Very likely," nodded Dunlop, reflectively. But how about the
assays for gold and silver? Sometimes, when searching for drifts
and runs of the metal we may need a dozen assays in a single week."

"We have the furnace with us, sir; the assay balance and all the
tools and chemicals that are used in an ordinary assay."

"You have?" asked Mr. Dunlop. "Then you must have come prepared
to go into this line of work."

"We thought it more than likely that we'd amuse ourselves along
that line of work for a while," Tom explained truthfully. "Yet
mining attracts us. We'd stay here and go into the thing in earnest
if we could make good enough terms with you."

"Would seventy-five dollars a month for each of you be satisfactory?"
asked Mr. Dunlop keenly.

"No, sir," replied Reade with emphasis. "Nor would we take a
hundred and seventy-five dollars, either. When I said that we
would consider a good proposition I meant just that, sir."

"Hm-m-m-m!" murmured Mr. Dunlop. "I shall have to give this matter