Harriet Beamer Strikes Gold by Joyce Magnin

what were you saying? Does it cost a lot of money to lease a, you know, to lease a mine? More importantly, can you make money?”
    “Yeah, I’ll say,” Lily said. “You can get rich. You don’t think all those folks during the gold rush got all the gold out of them mountains, do you? No siree, they didn’t. My dad says there’s tons of gold just ripe for the pickin’, as he says. Plenty.”
    “That’s just what the tour guide at the Empire Gold Mine said.”
    “Yep,” said Lily. “You been there?”
    “Yesterday. I went with a new friend, Florence. I guess you don’t know her, but even she talked about a type of mine called a … a place—”
    “Placer,” Lily said.
    “Does your dad know much about the placer mines they’ve got around here?”
    “Oh sure, my dad knows all about every kind of mine.”
    The waitress retuned with Lily’s sandwich, fries, and Coke. “Thank you,” Lily said. And then she turned to Harriet. “Thank you.”
    “My pleasure, dear,” Harriet said. “Enjoy.”
    “Thank you,” Lily repeated. “Yeah, and my pop knows this guy who has a big mine. He leases off sections of it to regular folks like us. ‘Course, whoever leases the land has to afford all the equipment to get the gold out of the ground.” Lily turned the ketchup upside down to put some on her plate and then munched a fry soaked with it.
    Harriet’s curiosity grew. “Really? And your pop is sure about this?”
    “Yep, he’s some rich dude, named Crickets. They call him Old Man Crickets.” She laughed lightly.
    Harriet nibbled one of her own fries. “Really? It’s for real?”
    Lily nodded as she chewed. “Dad’s seen it, the mine. Up in the hills. The thing is, Old Man Crickets is getting too old and wants to just lease it to folks, a small plot at a time to get at the gold hiding up there. Pop says it’ll take some machines and manpower.”
    “Oh. Sounds expensive.”
    Harriet might not have known anything about what kinds of machinery were necessary to get at the gold, but she figured it might cost a pretty penny. Otherwise everybody and their Aunt Fanny would be digging for gold.
    “Well, it costs a little. But Pop knows some fellows who’ll give him a good deal. He just needs a backer. You know, a silentpartner. Someone to sit back, write the checks, and wait for the money to roll in. That’s what Pop says anyway.”
    Harriet grew quiet. Her stomach did a little flip-flop, and she felt a check in her spirit but chalked it up to caffeine. Maybe people were just more hospitable and friendly than back east. This was almost too uncanny to be really happening. Her first thought was to jump right in, but maybe she should talk to Henry and Prudence first. And she should get proof that the mine even existed. But Harriet had money. She could invest.
    Harriet watched Lily consume the food like she hadn’t eaten in days. She really did seem much younger than seventeen—fourteen or fifteen.
    “It’s always been Pop’s dream to strike it rich,” Lily said. A dab of ketchup sat like a red pimple on her cheek.
    “Well, it sounds intriguing, Lily. I might be interested in something like that, but I would need to discuss it with—”
    That was when Lily’s phone rang. “Excuse me. It’s Dad.”
    “Hi, Dad,” she said into the phone. “Really? That much? Sounds like we get to eat burgers tonight.”
    Harriet smiled and ate another fry.
    Lily seemed to be listening for a long minute until she finally said, “Oh no, well, we have to find a backer soon, real soon.”
    Lily listened another few seconds.
    “Look, Dad, I’m with a new friend. I’ll call you right back.” She tapped off her phone and set it on the table.
    “That was Dad. He got $102 for the gold he panned this morning. But he says Old Man Crickets is about to lease the mine to some fat cat corporation unless Pop can get a backer real soon to go in on it with him. He’s on his way here right now.”
    Harriet swallowed and glanced