"Well?"
Hank shook his head.
"No, it's no good."
"What is no good? What do you mean?"
"I came back," said Hank, suddenly lucid, "with a wild notion of
getting you to come in with me on this thing."
"What! Go to Colombia with you?"
Hank nodded.
"But, of course, it's not possible. It's no job for a married man."
"Why not? If this gold of yours is just lying about in heaps it seems
to me that a married man is exactly the man who ought to be around
grabbing it. Or do you believe that old yarn about two being able to
live as cheaply as one? Take it from me, it's not so. If there is gold
waiting to be gathered up in handfuls, me for it. When do we start? Can
I bring Ruth and the kid?"
"I wish we could start. If I could have had you with me these last few
months I'd never have quit. But I guess it's out of the question.
You've no idea what sort of an inferno it is, and I won't let you come
into it with your eyes shut. But if ever you are in a real tight corner
let me know. It might be worth your while then to take a few risks."
"Oh! there are risks?"
"Risks! My claims are located along the Atrato River in the Choco
district. Does that convey anything to you?"
"Not a thing."
"The workings are three hundred miles inland. Just three hundred miles
of pure Hades. You can get all the fevers you ever heard of, and a few
more, I got most of them last trip.
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