“There’s gold to be had, Jeb.” Nate looks his friend in the eye. Jeb sees the nuggets, then thinks of Bess. “Good, I’ll buy some gear.”
The two men leave the next day to stake their claim, armed with their wits and a prayer. Bess shakes her head: “Adventure is another name for incompetence.” That stings; Jeb will show her.
He hasn’t expected the fleas, lice and rats. Nor can Nate offer more than scouring the already panned, looking for gold long gotten. “Learning by panning,” Nate says. “Paying your dues.”
After weeks of mapping rivers that have given and those that haven’t, they remain empty-handed and hard-lucked. By day, they pan gold dust to pay Mr Strauss. By night, they hear rumors of jackpots. For every success, they drink to a man’s health; for every setback, to the river’s.
A month later, Jeb returns, triumphant. “Bess, I have something for you!”
Jeb uprights himself with pride as he uncurls clumsy fingers to reveal the hard-won nugget in his palm. Bess greets him with a faint smile. “That’s all you have to show for a month’s work?”
Another month passes. This time, Jeb heads out alone, without Nate. He brings Bess his biggest find ever. “Enough! Enough of your silly gold! Don’t you understand? I want diamonds!”
The hardships he bore in camp did not prepare him for this blow; his knees buckle. He carefully stows away his prize, yet the thrill of capturing it has been soiled. Reluctantly, unwillingly, he begins to look into diamonds. It’s hard work: lonely hours, cold drafts.
“I will bring you diamonds,” he vows and kisses her forehead.
At the miner’s camp, he buys a pick, stares in disbelief at a cut diamond, then eats his lunch. Weeks pass; no diamonds. Tired, worn out, disillusioned, he decides to confess his failure to his woman. Sheepishly, he works up to his story and narrates his shame. “You did all that for me?” Bess gushes, as joy and love break out on her face. Soon her affections become warmer, and Jeb is still enough of a gold seeker to not look bounty in the mouth.
“I’m off to seek diamonds,” Jeb tells Nate, who is crestfallen.
Secretly, though, Jeb remains the gold digger at heart, longing for campfire camaraderie, under the yoke of no man; but times change and men do too. The odd diamond or two just might offer him the freedom to pursue gold day in, day out.
At the next camp, Jeb introduces himself: “Jeb Rawlson’s the name, prospector
for precious metals.” Nervously, he fingers his wedding band.
Jeb and Bess have since moved on. Even the luster of diamond cannot fuel the shine in their eyes forever. Even the craving for gold becomes faint until, one night, it blends seamlessly with the other calls of Nature.
Douglas MacKevett is a writer and mythologist based near Lucerne, Switzerland. His work focuses on flash fiction, spoken word and myth. When not crafting stories, Douglas enjoys the Swiss Alps with cross-country skiing in winter and hiking in summer.