He learned that Josias Lacoste had died in Dawson City, leaving behind nothing but Claim 129 on the Fortymile River in the Klondike.

The Klondike! The very sound of the word conjured up visions and could not fail to arouse the instincts of an engineer. The idea of inheriting a gold-hearing deposit definitely did not leave Raddle as indifferent as it did Summy Skim. Perhaps, unlike his cousin, he saw it as a business venture to be pursued rather than liquidated.

He did not want to say anything about it yet, however. It was his habit to study things seriously, and he wanted to give it some thought before announcing his decision. As it turned out, he apparently needed only twenty-four hours to weigh the pros and cons of the situation, for at breakfast the next morning, when Summy found him strangely absorbed in his thoughts, Ben said, "Let's talk a bit about the Klondike."

"If you mean only a little bit, my dear Ben, all right, let's talk about it."

"A little, unless it happens to be a lot."

"Tell me what's on your mind, Ben."

"The notary hasn't sent you the title deed to this Claim 129, has he?"

"No, but he has received it. I didn't think there was any point in looking it over, though."

"That sounds just like you, Summy," replied Raddle. "However, I take this matter a bit more seriously, and in my opinion it deserves serious attention and thorough study."

Skim made no reply to this at first, but after his cousin had gone on further, he said, "My dear Ben, our situation is very simple, it seems to me. Either this inheritance has some value, and we'll sell it for the best price we can get, or it has no value, which is much more likely since we know our uncle had no talent for getting rich. In that case, we won't accept it."

"That would be wise, of course," said Raddle. "But there's no need to act hastily. With these placers, there are so many unknown factors. You think they're poor, you think they're mined out, and one blow of the pick can bring you a fortune."

"Well, my dear Ben, that's exactly what the people familiar with the business should know, the ones working those famous Klondike deposits right now. If the claim on the Fortymile is worth something, we'll try to get rid of it at the best possible price. But as I said, I'm afraid our uncle got himself involved in some worthless venture, and we may have to suffer the consequences. He never made a success of anything in his life, and I can't imagine that he left this world just when he had become a millionaire."

"That's what we have to find out," replied Raddle. "The prospector's trade holds many surprises like that. You're always on the verge of making a lucky strike, and I'm not talking about ordinary luck. I mean finding a gold-bearing lode full of nuggets. After all, there are some gold seekers who have had nothing to complain about."

"Yes, one in a hundred, and look at the price they pay in worry, fatigue, and privation."

"Well, I don't intend to be satisfied with theories. I want to see some serious reports before I make up my mind."

Skim could see what his cousin was getting at, and although he was upset, he couldn't appear to be particularly surprised. He fell back on his old familiar theme.

"Don't we have enough, my friend, with the fortune our parents left us? Doesn't our inheritance guarantee our independence and comfort? I'm speaking like this because I can see that you attach more importance to this affair than I do, more than it deserves in my opinion. Do we know what difficulties it has in store for us? Really, aren't we rich enough?"

"You're never rich enough if you can be richer."

"Unless you're too rich, Ben, like some billionaires who have more worries than they have millions and who have more grief keeping their money than they had getting it."

"Oh, come on. Philosophy is all very well, but you mustn't carry it to extremes. Don't try to put words in my mouth. I don't expect to find tons of gold in Uncle Josias's claim, but as I said, it would be just as well to get some information."

"We'll get information, of course, my dear Ben. And when we get it, pray heaven we don't find ourselves in an awkward situation that we'll have to deal with out of respect for our family. Who knows whether the costs of purchasing, setting up, and working Claim 129 out there may not have exceeded our uncle's means? In that case, I assured Mr. Snubbin that ..."

"You were right to do that, Summy, and I approve what you did," Raddle replied quickly. "We'll have the answer to your question when we know more about the affair. I've done more than listen to stories about these Klondike deposits.