The Gold Fields
- Setting: Spring/Summer 1850 (3rd year of Kaei, Year of the Dog)
- Terry and Manjiro are in California (passing through Sacramento to be exact) on a railroad.
- Manrjiro can't believe it: He's never been on anything so fast.
- The guys get to a spot at a river and start panning for gold.
- Manjiro thinks he's hit it big right off, but everyone around him laughs; he's just found fool's gold.
- Months go by, and Manjiro gets into a rhythm. It's all about shaking, scooping, sluicing, stirring…
- Guys all around quit because the conditions are really tough on the body.
- Good thing Manjiro's used to hard work.
- One day, Manjiro's doing the same old same old when everything sort of stops for him and he realizes he has a lump of gold in his pan.
- To him, this means he and his friends are going home.