Le Pays de l'or

In the bustling office of a modest Antwerp trading house, a bright‑eyed young clerk spends his mornings hunched over ledgers while his mind drifts to the headlines of a newspaper: gold lying just beneath the earth’s surface, waiting to be scooped up. The promise of glittering riches ignites a restless yearning in him, a longing to break free from the monotony of paperwork and seize a destiny of his own making.

His restless companion, a cheerful fellow named Jean, bursts in with a prospectus for a French‑run California mining company promising free passage, modest investment, and a share of the treasure. The idea of boarding the ship Jonas for a voyage across the Atlantic sparks both excitement and dread; the clerk is torn between the lure of adventure and the pull of family obligations. As the departure date draws near, he must decide whether to abandon his safe, familiar life for the uncertain promise of the “country of gold.