Part 17

My home had been rebuilt, and I was expected. Antoine was planting potatoes that evening, and pointed with a grunt to a fresh piece of garden land, which he had reclaimed from the willows and wood-ants. Everything was scented and delicious in the magnificent spring. And below, my own little Yellow Sands ran with its sparkling music.

Such is my dream of the false Bonanza. I am awake again now--awake, with the old remembered song of the waters beneath, and my bright-eyed wife at my side. I am satisfied, because I have proved the two worlds, and tried the men who live in each. I am happy, because I have escaped from the world which I could never love, because I am surrounded by the wonderful Nature which is all I ask for.

So I shall never leave my northern home again.

THE END

_Printed by Cowan & Co., Limited, Perth._

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Perceived typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.

Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.