When they met Mr. By-ends, the road ahead was flat. By-ends wore a fine coat and said he too believed in the King of the Celestial City, though he had never liked hardship. He traveled only when the weather was sunny, the road was level, and everyone welcomed him.
“You take things too seriously,” By-ends said. “Who doesn’t want a good life? With money, you can do so much more.”
Chris did not think money was useless. Someone had paid for the bread he had eaten and the beds he had slept in along the way. He had wondered whether, with enough money, he could hire a carriage to fetch his family so his sister would not have to walk so far.
Seeing his interest, By-ends smiled more warmly. “There’s a silver mine ahead. Spend a little time inside and you might fill a bag. You can see to other people’s troubles later.”
Sure enough, a little hill called Lucre stood beside the road. A man called Demas waved to them from the mine entrance. Now and then, metal clinked inside. It sounded very much like the coins on the table in the City of Destruction. Chris went a few steps closer and smelled damp earth.
“Is it dangerous?” he asked.
“Not at all,” Demas answered quickly. “Lots of people come.”
But Hopeful noticed that a plank at the entrance had cracked. He dropped a pebble and waited a long time before hearing it strike below. The sound came from very deep down. Impatiently, By-ends said that people who wanted to become rich could not be afraid of everything.
Chris thought of the courtyard wall at home. A thin crack had appeared there first too, while everyone looked only at money. He picked up a little splinter from the plank and showed it to By-ends. But By-ends no longer wanted to listen. He turned and walked into the mist beside the mine.
Demas said again that once Chris had the money, he could save his family. “Just come down. This is the easiest way.”
Chris stopped at the mouth of the mine. “I haven’t even found out whether there’s a way out below, and you’re already hurrying me down,” he said. “I can’t lose myself here and still expect to rescue someone else.”
The two boys left the hill. Even a long way off, Chris kept thinking about the bag of money he might have gained. He did not like admitting how nearly he had been persuaded. But Hopeful said that he too had stared at the light inside for a long time.
Ahead stood a pillar that looked as though it were made of salt. Beside it was the story of someone who had been led away from danger but kept looking back, unable to let go of what she had left behind. Chris studied it for a long time. He put his hand in his empty pocket and remembered his father arranging the coins in neat piles.
“When I go home, I have to tell Dad we can’t just move the money,” he said.
Hopeful nodded, then tugged gently at him. “We have to keep going too.” Chris looked once more at the mine and turned away. This time he did not pretend he felt no regret at leaving it.