Chapter 21 Summary

McTeague is on the run when he meets up with a couple of miners, and the three decide to go prospecting. They find a spot full of gold. They set up camp, believing they will make a fortune. McTeague, however, is still paranoid. He cannot rest. Just as he has before, he keeps imagining that he hears someone coming, someone after him. He finally resolves to leave his gold fortune behind, to stay on the run from the authorities. After travelling through unyielding heat, encountering rattlesnakes and suffering through bouts of paranoia, McTeague decides he can travel no further. A short while later, McTeague is awakened by a shout. He looks up to see Marcus standing over him.

Chapter 21 Analysis

This is the ultimate upper-hand play. Marcus has tracked down McTeague in the middle of the Nevada desert, and McTeague is now, once...