Selectingaspotwherethewhitequartzwasvisible，Flemingattackedthebankwiththepick。Afteroneortwoblowsitbegantoyieldandcrumbleawayathisfeet。Hewashedoutapanfulperfunctorily，moreintentonthegirlthanhiswork；she，eager，alert，andbreathless，hadchangedplaceswithhim，andbecometheanxiousprospector！Buttheresultwasthesame。Hethrewawaythepanwithalaugh，totakeherlittlehand！Butshewhispered，\"Tryagain。\"
Heattackedthebankoncemorewithsuchenergythatagreatpartofitcavedandfell，fillingthepanandevenburyingtheshovelinthedebris。HeunearthedthelatterwhileTinkawasstrugglingtogetoutthepan。
\"Themeanthingisstuckandwon’tmove，\"shesaidpettishly。\"I
thinkit’sbrokennow，too，justlikeours。\"
Flemingcamelaughinglyforward，and，puttingonearmaroundthegirl’swaist，attemptedtoassistherwiththeother。Thepanwasimmovable，and，indeed，seemedtobebrokenandbent。Suddenlyheutteredanexclamationandbeganhurriedlytobrushawaythedirtandthrowthesoiloutofthepan。