Explore "Jack Heaton, Gold Seeker" by A. Frederick Collins on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
On the various trips they had made from their base of supplies on the Big Black River the boys had kept a sharp lookout for marks or signs or other visual evidence which might indicate in some way the location of the treasure they sought. Jack's _hunch_ was responsible for his belief that so great a store of gold would not, in fact could not, have been abandoned without some clew which would serve as a key to its recovery.
They often dug off the snow from a pile of dirt which they thought might cover the sacks of gold; as wood was frequently hard to get, they couldn't thaw it out and, consequently, had to work like "niggers" with their picks and shovels to penetrate it. And to what purpose? -- usually only to find it was the dump of some discarded mine. But a gold seeker wots not of either hardship or work if his efforts give promise of bringing about the desired result. And they hoped great hopes.