Something of this was in his mind as he pushed away from their frugal breakfast-table. He stood in the doorway filling his pipe, while Buck cleared the tin plates and pannikins and plunged them into the boiler of hot water on the stove.
He leant his stalwart shoulders against the door casing, and stared out at the wooded valley which crossed the front of the house. Beyond it, over the opposite rise, he could see the dim outline of the crest of Devil's Hill several miles away.
He felt that by rights Buck should be there--somewhere there beyond the valley. Not because the youngster had any desire for the wealth that was flowing into the greedy hands of the gold-seekers. It was simply the thought of a man who knows far more of the world than he cares to remember. He felt that in all honesty he should point out the duties of a man to himself in these days when advancement alone counts, and manhood, without worldly position, goes for so very little. He was not quite sure that Buck didn't perfectly understand these things for himself. He had such a wonderful understanding and insight. However, his duty was plain, and it was not his way to shrink from it.
Buck was sprinkling the earth floor preparatory to sweeping it when the Padre let his eyes wander back into the room.
"Got things fixed?" he inquired casually.
"Mostly." Buck began to sweep with that practiced hand which never raises a dust on an earthen floor.
The Padre watched his movements thoughtfully.
"Seems queer seeing you sweeping and doing chores like a--a hired girl." He laughed presently.
Buck looked up and rested on his broom. He smilingly surveyed his early benefactor and friend.
"What's worryin'?" he inquired in his direct fashion.
The Padre stirred uneasily. He knocked the ashes from his pipe and pressed the glowing tobacco down with the head of a rusty nail.
"Oh, nothing worrying," he said, turning back to his survey of the valley beyond the decaying stockade. "The sun'll be over the hilltops in half an hour," he went on.
But the manner of his answer told Buck all he wanted to know. He too glanced out beyond the valley.
"Yes," he ejaculated, and went on sweeping. A moment later he paused again. "Guess I can't be out at the traps till noon. Mebbe you ken do without me--till then?"
"Sure." The Padre nodded at the valley. Then he added: "I've been thinking."
"'Bout that gold strike? 'Bout me? You bin thinkin' I ought to quit the traps, an'--make good wi' them. I know."