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He grinned slightly, and the way he winked made her feel a bit sheepish for changing her mind so quickly.
“Do you need help?” he asked.
“No.”
“All right,” he said, picking up his saw. “Shout if you do.”
She didn’t shout, but did end up with a goodly sum of gold, which she carried into the tent. There she spooned the black sand and gold into a frying pan and left it on the table while she went outside to build the fire.
Lucky walked over a short time later, while she was using a stick to stir down the flames. Crouching down next to her, he asked, “You plan on cooking anyway?”
“Just my gold,” she answered. “Gotta get the moisture out of the dirt so I can separate it.”
Cole rocked back on his heels, sending up a silent petition of thanks. Not even on his deathbed would he admit he’d never tasted anything as horrible as some of Maddie’s cooking. She tried and was doing her best, therefore he’d held his silence about that, just as much as he had with other things.
“How’s the Long Tom coming?” she asked.
He might have had a hard time concentrating on it, but nothing much kept her focus off gold. “Good,” he said. “With four of us working on it, the sluice should be finished this afternoon. We’ll start assembling it as soon as Tim and Abe get the rest of the wedged riffles cut. I’ll need a blanket then, to line the bottom.”
“I’ll get one for you,” she said. “And some of the furs you got from Jack. Put those down beneath the blanket and we’ll catch more gold. No doubt about it.”
There were several things he didn’t doubt, and Maddie’s knowledge about gold mining was one of them. “Will do,” he said and rose before the desire to kiss her again become so strong he’d have to act on it.
He was in a particular position. If Jack and Homer hadn’t shown up when they had, he might have convinced Maddie to do a bit more than kissing. That couldn’t happen. They’d found gold, and gathering as much as possible should have been his focus. Yet the faster they gathered it, the sooner they’d leave, and he wasn’t ready to think about that.
A celebration with the Fenstermacher brothers didn’t just suggest edible food, it promised more time to figure out his next steps.
Less than an hour later, Cole entered the tent to gather the blanket and furs needed for the box.
“Got those ready for you,” Maddie said, pointing to a pile on the floor as he entered.
She was sitting at the table, holding a tin can over her frying pan. “What are you doing now?” he asked.
“Separating out the gold,” she answered without looking up.
He moved closer. “How?”
“Watch.” She skimmed the bottom of the can over the gold-speckled sand and then carefully moved it over another pan that held nothing but gold. Almost magically, gold dust fell from the bottom of her can into the pan.
Amazed, he asked, “How are you doing that?”
She giggled happily and tilted the can so he could see inside it. “With this.” Pulling on a string, she lifted a good-size magnet out of the can.
“I’ve read a lot of books, but never heard about that trick.”
“Smitty taught me how to do it,” she said. “I tied a string to the magnet, and when I drop it to the bottom of the can and hold the can over the pan, the magnet draws out the gold and holds it there.” She demonstrated each action as she spoke. “Then when I move it to my other pan and lift out the magnet, the gold falls into that pan.”
“That’s pretty ingenious,” he said, astonished at how well it did work.
“Works every time.” A serene smile covered her face. “A new can was like a new pair of boots to Smitty.” Lowering the can over the sand, she added, “I never saw him get a new pair of boots, but that’s what he always said.”
“He’d be proud of you, Maddie,” Cole said. He certainly was. “Coming all the way up to Alaska.”
“I know,” she answered, focusing again on her gold. “And he’d be happier than ever with all the canned food you hauled with us.” She released another splattering of gold into her second pan before saying, “When I’m done with this, I’ll start gathering rocks so we can build a dam to channel water through the Long Tom.”
