Psychology and Copper

The narrator and his eccentric partner stake small copper prospects and accept a third investor who brings an eastern buyer that purchases their claim and hires them as caretakers. While guarding the property they stumble across a rich vein on a neighboring claim, but one partner's absorption in scientific manuals and newly adopted psychological theories shifts priorities: he conducts experiments, persuades and treats locals with mental techniques that produce unexpected results, and his obsessions complicate decisions about mining and profit. The tale balances practical frontier work, humorous character studies, and the clash between empirical prospecting and unorthodox scientific fads.