the tumbling
water. Pausing on a large, sloping boulder, he reached into the
clear liquid on the lee side of the rock. He drew out two white,
translucent stones, discolored along one side.
'See here,' he pointed along a crack in one
rock. 'This is quartz, lots of it around here. These veins on the
rock are similar to the ones found with gold.'
Amanda peered at the rock, taking it from him
to examine.
'See the rust coloring on the side?'
She nodded, conscious of his hands pointing
out the traces on the rock, conscious of his shoulder close to her
own as he bent to point out the markings on the rock. Concentrate
on what he is telling me, she admonished herself, hoping she could
continue to breathe. Her heart skipped a beat and then raced.
'It’s from the pyrite, fool's gold. It's
often present where gold’s found.'
Amanda looked around the creek, stooping to
scoop up a few other white stones, discarding one immediately when
she saw it was a smooth pebble, not the ragged, semi-translucent
stone she was looking for. The others she examined more closely.
Here and there were black lines which cut into the rocks.
'Sometimes you can crack the rock open,
finding the gold on the outside has been worn away, but a bit of
the vein inside still has some of the ore.'
'Will it be shiny?' She tossed back the
rocks, picked up new ones.
'You'll know it's gold, it looks the same in
sun or shade. Not polished like jewelry, but definitely gold.'
She nodded, examining the rocks, tossing them
away when they did not have what she wanted. Mac also pulled rocks
from the stream bed, returning them to the water more quickly than
Amanda. Silently they dug up white rocks, looking them over, threw
them back. Twice Amanda hesitated, then put the stones in her pan
for later study.
She lost track of the time when Mac turned to
her, hand outstretched to her.
'Here you are, traces of gold.'
She took the rock, white on the one side.
Turning it over, she saw a wide band of gray-black mixed with a
dull metal. Just traces, but he was right, she did know it was
gold. She raised shining eyes to him.
'It's gold!' She held it out for him to take
back.
'It's for you. You can keep it.'
'But you found it. I can't take it.'
He smiled. 'Plenty more where it came from. I
told you, two hundred million dollars worth.' He flicked the rock,
still in her outstretched hand. 'This is probably worth less than
fifty cents if you scraped it off the rock even at today’s
prices.'
'It's still gold,' she defended happily,
looking again at the traces on the side of the stone. All the
flakes and grains of gold painstakingly panned from the creek over
the last few weeks did not equal the amount of ore displayed on
this hunk of quartz.
'Yes,' he said, 'it’s gold.'
She looked closely at the surrounding land.
'Does it come from here, the quartz?' Maybe they could find the
vein, the lode gold.
'Probably not. In the spring, when the snow
melts from the higher elevations, this old creek swells
considerably. It's a raging river then, moving a tremendous amount
of material with it: rocks, stones, logs, debris. Over the years it
washes the stones down from higher elevations, who knows how far.
In the late fall, the water’s so low it's only a small trickle,
scarcely moving at all.'
Amanda looked at the water. 'It's hard to
believe,' she murmured. Where would she be in late autumn, in
October? On tour somewhere? Cutting a new album? No matter, she'd
be sure to spend a few days here. This was her home now and she
wanted to see it in all its different seasons.
'Are we below the snowline here?' she asked,
trying to envisage snow on the trees, piled on the boulders.
Mac stared at her for a moment. 'Didn't you
ask about that before buying?'
She shook her head.
'Depends on the winter. Usually we get a few
storms through that dump on us. If it's a mild winter, then none.'
He moved back to the bank. 'I've got things to do. You keep on with
your search, if you like.'
'No, I'm
water. Pausing on a large, sloping boulder, he reached into the
clear liquid on the lee side of the rock. He drew out two white,
translucent stones, discolored along one side.
'See here,' he pointed along a crack in one
rock. 'This is quartz, lots of it around here. These veins on the
rock are similar to the ones found with gold.'
Amanda peered at the rock, taking it from him
to examine.
'See the rust coloring on the side?'
She nodded, conscious of his hands pointing
out the traces on the rock, conscious of his shoulder close to her
own as he bent to point out the markings on the rock. Concentrate
on what he is telling me, she admonished herself, hoping she could
continue to breathe. Her heart skipped a beat and then raced.
'It’s from the pyrite, fool's gold. It's
often present where gold’s found.'
Amanda looked around the creek, stooping to
scoop up a few other white stones, discarding one immediately when
she saw it was a smooth pebble, not the ragged, semi-translucent
stone she was looking for. The others she examined more closely.
Here and there were black lines which cut into the rocks.
'Sometimes you can crack the rock open,
finding the gold on the outside has been worn away, but a bit of
the vein inside still has some of the ore.'
'Will it be shiny?' She tossed back the
rocks, picked up new ones.
'You'll know it's gold, it looks the same in
sun or shade. Not polished like jewelry, but definitely gold.'
She nodded, examining the rocks, tossing them
away when they did not have what she wanted. Mac also pulled rocks
from the stream bed, returning them to the water more quickly than
Amanda. Silently they dug up white rocks, looking them over, threw
them back. Twice Amanda hesitated, then put the stones in her pan
for later study.
She lost track of the time when Mac turned to
her, hand outstretched to her.
'Here you are, traces of gold.'
She took the rock, white on the one side.
Turning it over, she saw a wide band of gray-black mixed with a
dull metal. Just traces, but he was right, she did know it was
gold. She raised shining eyes to him.
'It's gold!' She held it out for him to take
back.
'It's for you. You can keep it.'
'But you found it. I can't take it.'
He smiled. 'Plenty more where it came from. I
told you, two hundred million dollars worth.' He flicked the rock,
still in her outstretched hand. 'This is probably worth less than
fifty cents if you scraped it off the rock even at today’s
prices.'
'It's still gold,' she defended happily,
looking again at the traces on the side of the stone. All the
flakes and grains of gold painstakingly panned from the creek over
the last few weeks did not equal the amount of ore displayed on
this hunk of quartz.
'Yes,' he said, 'it’s gold.'
She looked closely at the surrounding land.
'Does it come from here, the quartz?' Maybe they could find the
vein, the lode gold.
'Probably not. In the spring, when the snow
melts from the higher elevations, this old creek swells
considerably. It's a raging river then, moving a tremendous amount
of material with it: rocks, stones, logs, debris. Over the years it
washes the stones down from higher elevations, who knows how far.
In the late fall, the water’s so low it's only a small trickle,
scarcely moving at all.'
Amanda looked at the water. 'It's hard to
believe,' she murmured. Where would she be in late autumn, in
October? On tour somewhere? Cutting a new album? No matter, she'd
be sure to spend a few days here. This was her home now and she
wanted to see it in all its different seasons.
'Are we below the snowline here?' she asked,
trying to envisage snow on the trees, piled on the boulders.
Mac stared at her for a moment. 'Didn't you
ask about that before buying?'
She shook her head.
'Depends on the winter. Usually we get a few
storms through that dump on us. If it's a mild winter, then none.'
He moved back to the bank. 'I've got things to do. You keep on with
your search, if you like.'
'No, I'm
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