Banks nodded once more.  He drew his hand away and rose from his seat on the chair arm.  His eyes were shining like blue glacier ice.  “It was in a blizzard; the same as the day I lost my fingers—­only—­Hollis—­he was too late.”  He turned and walked unsteadily to the door and stood looking out.  “I wasn’t three hundred miles from the Aurora,” he added.  “I could have been in time.  I can’t ever forget that.”

Annabel rose and stood watching him, with the emotion playing in her face.  “Johnny!” she exclaimed at last.  “Oh, Johnny!” She went over and put her arm protectively around his shoulders.  “I know just how you feel; but you didn’t drive him to it.  You were just busy and interested in your work.  You’d have gone in a minute, left everything, if you had known.”

“That’s it; I ought to have known.  I ought to have kept track of Dave; run over once in a while to say hullo.  I’d have likely seen it was coming on, then, in time.  When Tisdale found him, he’d been setting out little pieces of spruce, like an orchard in the snow.  You see,” he added after a moment, “Dave always expected to come back here when he struck it rich and start a fruit ranch.  He was the man who owned this pocket.”

A sudden understanding shone in Annabel’s face.  “And that’s why you got an option on it; you want to carry out his scheme.  I’ll help you, Johnny, I’ll do my level best.”

Banks turned and looked at her.  “That’s all I want, Annabel.  I was a little afraid you’d be sick of the place.  But, my, we can go right ahead and set a crew of men to grubbing out the sage on both sections to once.  Folks might have said, seeing you take up with a undersized, froze-up fellow like me, you was marrying me for my money; but they can’t, no, ma’am, not when they see the valuable claim you are developing in your own right.”

Annabel laughed.  “I guess you’re entitled to your turn making fun of me.  But have you got money, Johnny?  I never thought of that.”

“Likely not.  But the Annabel sure brought me luck; that name worked better than a rabbit’s foot.  Here’s a little bunch of nuggets I saved out of the first clean-up.”  He paused to take a small new poke from an inner pocket and, untying the string, poured the contents in her hand.  “I thought likely you’d want ’em made up in a necklace with a few diamonds or mebbe emeralds mixed in.”

She stood looking at the shining rough pieces of gold in her palm, while a certain pride rose through the wonder in her face.  “My gracious!” she exclaimed, and a spark of her lost youth revived.  “My gracious.  And you named your mine after me.  I bet it was on account of that billy and the ewes.”

“Likely,” the little man beamed.  “But more than likely it was because that strike was a sure thing, and you was behind it, Annabel.  My, yes, you was responsible I ever got to Alaska; let alone stuck it out.  Sure as a grubstake, you gave me my start.  Now come take a look at this outfit I brought.”