"Hold on! Wait a minute. Don't be in a hurry," said Mr. Swift.

Mr. Peterson was an old friend, and when he and Mr. Swift were
young men they had prospected and grub-staked together. But Mr.
Swift soon gave that up to devote his time to his inventions,
while Mr. Peterson became a sort of rolling stone.

He was a good man, but somewhat visionary, and a bit inclined
to "take chances"--such as looking for lost treasure--rather than
to devote himself to some steady employment. The result was that
he led rather a precarious life, though never being actually in
want.

"No, pardner," he said to Mr. Swift. "It's kind of you to ask
me to stay; but this mine business has got a grip on me. I want
to try it out. If you won't finance the project someone else may.
I'll say good-bye, and--"

"Now just a minute," said Mr. Swift. "It's true, Alec, I had
about made up my mind not to go into this thing, when this
accident happened to Tom. Now you practically saved his life.
You--"

"Oh, pshaw! I only acted on the spur of the moment. Anyone
could have done what I did," protested the fortune-hunter.

"Oh, but you did it!" insisted Mr. Swift, "and you did it in
the nick of time. Now I wouldn't for a moment think of offering
you a reward for saving my son's life. But I do feel mighty
friendly toward you--not that I didn't before--but I do want to