Trade was slack in the Pacific province, and men from the interior flocked down to the coast and overflowed¹ the employment bureaus. This made it unusually hard for Jimmy and his friends to find work. For a month they had done almost nothing, only an odd job now and then; they were in arrears² with their hotel bill; and the future looked anything but bright to them.  
After supper one evening they sat in the lobby of their shabby hotel in a gloomy mood. Jimmy had found temporary work, and since early morning had been loading a vessel³ with lumber⁴ in a pouring rain. All day he had been wet through, and he was tired and sore. He had grown thin, and had a gaunt, determined⁵ look.
 
“What’s this?” he exclaimed, examining Clay’s envelope, which had just been handed to him. “I have no acquaintances in Vancouver who use expensive stationery⁶.” He read the note and then looked up with a surprised frown. “It’s from Clay! He asks me to meet him in the smoking-room of his hotel. It’s the big, smart place they’ve lately opened.”
 
“Oho!” said Bethune. “I’ve been expecting this. I suppose you mean to go?”
 
“What’s your opinion?”
 
“Perhaps it might be wiser to take no notice of the invitation; but I don’t know. I’d like to see the fellow and hear what he has to say. It’s curious that we haven’t met him yet, though we have felt his influence.”
 
“Anyway, I’m not going alone. I might make a mess of things; he’s evidently a cunning rogue⁷. If you think it’s wise to see him, you’ll have to come.”
 
“We’ll all go,” said Bethune with a grin. “I believe he knows us already, and he won’t get much out of Hank.”
 
“I’m sure not great at talking,” Moran agreed. “Now, if he tried to have us sandbagged, and you told me to get after him—”
 
“It hasn’t come to that yet,” Bethune laughed. “The fellow’s more refined in his methods, but they’re quite as dangerous.” He looked at the note. “However, it’s nearly time, and we may as well make a start.”
 
Clay looked up in surprise from his seat at a small table when the three walked in, and he felt half amused at Moran’s steady, defiant⁸ stare. This, he thought, was a strange companion for Bethune, whom he at once recognized as the business leader of the party. Jimmy he dismissed, after a searching glance, as less dangerous. He was the practical seaman⁹, no doubt, but it was his partner’s intelligence that directed their affairs.
 
“Sit down,” Clay said, taking out his cigar-case. “I wrote to Mr. Farquhar, but I’m glad to see you all. Will you have anything to drink?”
 
“No, thanks,” Jimmy answered quickly; and added, “I’m afraid it’s rather an intrusion, but as we go together, I thought I might bring my friends.”
 
Clay understood his refusal as a declaration of hostility¹⁰, but he smiled.
 
“As you prefer,” he said, lighting¹¹ a cigar and quietly studying his callers.
 
The room was large and handsome, with an inlaid floor, massive pillars, and pictures of snow-clad mountains on the walls. It was then almost unoccupied, and that added to the effect of its size and loftiness, but two very smart and somewhat supercilious¹² attendants hovered¹³ in the background. Farquhar and his friends were shabbily dressed, and Clay had hoped that they might feel themselves out of place and perhaps embarrassed by his silence, but there was no sign of this. Indeed, they seemed very much at ease. Bethune’s expression was slightly bored, while Moran glanced about with naïve curiosity. For all that, they looked worn, and there was something about them which suggested tension. They had felt the pressure he had skilfully¹⁴ brought to bear, but whether it had made them compliant¹⁵ or not remained to be seen.
 
“Well,” Clay began, “we must have a talk. You have undertaken some salvage¹⁶ operations at a wreck¹⁷ in the North?”
 
“Yes,” Jimmy answered concisely¹⁸.
 
“You don’t seem to have been very successful.”
 
“I dare say our appearance proves it,” Bethune smiled. “As a matter of fact, we haven’t cleared our expenses yet.”
 
Clay did not know what to think of this frankness; he imagined that if the man had any wish to extort¹⁹ the best terms he could, he would have been less candid²⁰. He saw that he must be cautious, for he had done a risky²¹ thing in asking Farquhar to meet him. He would rather have left the fellow alone and tried to destroy the wreck before they reached it; but he knew that he might not live to do so. He had had his warnings and he could not leave the matter open.
 
“It’s obvious that, as the salvage people abandoned the vessel, something has happened to give you a chance,” he said. “However, as you can’t have money enough to buy a proper outfit²², you’re not likely to make much use of the opportunity. You want steam and the best diving gear, and I guess you found them too expensive.”
 
“We might do better if we had them,” Bethune admitted.
 
“Very well; are you willing to take a partner?”
 
There was uncompromising refusal in Jimmy’s face, but he did not speak, and Clay surmised²³ that Bethune had given him a warning kick under the table. Bethune, in fact, had done so, and was thinking hard. To refuse would imply that they expected to succeed and that the salvage could be easily accomplished²⁴ with such poor apparatus²⁵ as they could obtain; but this was not advisable, because it would encourage Clay to anticipate them.
 
“We might consider a sleeping partner who’d be content with his profit on the money he supplied,” he said.
 
“That means you intend to keep the practical operations in your own hands?”
 
“Yes,” Bethune answered; “you can take it that it does.”
 
“Then the arrangement wouldn’t suit me. I know more about the vessel than you do, and I’ve been accustomed to directing things. But I’ll bid you five thousand dollars for your interest in the wreck.”
 
“Strictly speaking, we have no interest that we could sell.”
 
“That’s true; but I’ll buy your knowledge of how she lies and the best way of getting at her cargo²⁶. Of course, after you have taken the money you’ll leave her alone.”
 
“It’s tempting,” Bethune said thoughtfully. “But perhaps we had better be frank. I understand that you were one of the owners, and, as the underwriters paid you, I don’t see what you would gain.”
 
“All the gold on board her wasn’t insured.”
 
Bethune looked hard at him and Clay smiled. “It’s true. Then, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have a try at the salvage. I’m open to make a shot at anything that promises a moderate profit.”
 
“I suppose there is no reason,” Bethune agreed slowly. “Would you go up to ten thousand dollars?”
 
“No, sir!” Clay said firmly. “I stick to my bid.”
 
“Then I’m sorry we can’t make a deal.” Bethune turned to the others. “I suppose that’s your opinion?”
 
“Of course,” said Jimmy; and Moran nodded.
 
Clay was silent for a few moments. He would gladly have given ten thousand dollars to settle the matter, but he doubted whether Bethune would take it; and to bid high would rouse suspicion. It looked as if he had accomplished nothing, but he had found out that his opponents were more capable than he had imagined, and he decided²⁷ that it would be safer to put no further pressure on them. He did not wish them to learn that he was the cause of the trouble they had had in finding employment, as it would indicate that he had some strong reason for preventing their return to the wreck.
 
“Well,” he said, “it’s a pity we can’t come to terms, but I can make no fresh suggestion. You’re up against a pretty big undertaking²⁸.”
 
“So it seems,” Bethune answered pleasantly. “We’ll have to do the best we can. And now, as we mustn’t take up your time, I’ll bid you good-night.”
 
Clay let them go, and as they went down the street Jimmy turned to Bethune.
 
“What do you think of the interview?” he asked.
 
“A drawn²⁹ game. Neither side has scored; but I’ve learned two things. The first is that he has no suspicion that we have found the bogus case.”
 
“How do you infer that?”
 
“From his view of our character. You must recollect³⁰ that we’re hard-up adventurers whom he wouldn’t expect to be scrupulous³¹. He’d conclude that if we had found anything suspicious we’d have let him know and tried to sell our secret. He was waiting for some hint, and I was careful to give him none.”
 
“What’s the next thing?”
 
“That he’ll try to clean out the wreck before we get there. It was the only reason he let us go. I dare say you noticed how careful he was not to show any anxiety to buy us off. It’s curious, but I really think he spoke³² the truth when he said all the gold was not insured.”
 
“If it had been a straight deal, with nothing behind it, I think I’d have taken the five thousand dollars,” Jimmy said. “He won’t have much trouble in getting ahead of us when the ice breaks up. It will cost something to fit out the sloop³³, and our pockets are empty.”
 
“Oh, there’s time yet,” Bethune replied with a cheerful laugh. “Something may turn up.”
 
Fortune favored them during the next week, for Bethune secured a post as hotel clerk, and Moran went inland to assist in repairing a railroad track which a snowslide had wrecked³⁴. Soon afterward³⁵ Jimmy shipped as deck-hand on a Sound steamboat and was lucky in attracting the attention of............