THE PROSPECTOR by Thomas Davidson

I was waiting in line at the jobsearch agency and took to looking at the other eole who
were sitting aro!nd at the telehones" or waiting #!ietly in the chairs set o!t by the sta$$
$or the long waits% The line was moving very slowly% & yo!ng woman was leading $or
one o$ the sta$$ $or money" she said she had j!st been released $rom jail that morning" and
that she had nothing e'cet the clothes she was wearing" the sta$$ looked at their
com!ter screens and shook their heads and called over their colleag!es to see i$ anything
co!ld be done% I remembered when I $inally le$t I saw the woman at the b!s sto asking
$or change" and asking aro!nd $or a light $or a cigarette she icked ! o$$ the gro!nd%
I had come into the o$$ice to noti$y them that I was going to be leaving town" and to make
arrangements $or my details to be changed accordingly% I had been in the city $or nearly
three years" working as a ainter" and had decided ret!rn to the co!ntry $or a while% I(d
$o!nd on the internet a ho!se I co!ld have to mysel$" $or the same amo!nt that I aid $or
the little room I inhabited had at the moment" it was ! in the cold art o$ the state"
s!rro!nded by mo!ntains and national ark" with a artially renovated b!ngalow
attached%
I hated when I made it to the $ront" it was very !ncom$ortable being s!ddenly e'osed
a$ter sending s!ch a long time b!ried in the line% I tried to organise my $ace into the
aroriate comosition $or aearing rela'ed" or s!btly ironical% It was di$$ic!lt to
maintain $or s!ch a long eriod o$ time% I was always concerned with what my $ace might
be e'ressing at any one time" it was a $!ll time job" in $act it had become s!ch a honed
minimalist e'ercise that as a$ter the $ashion o$ a method actor" erhas" I had come to
believe it was ossible to mani$est the most s!btle inner workings simly by sim!lating
the sychological attit!de I tho!ght most aroriate $or the sit!ation% It came as a nasty
shock one morning when I !t this o$ten emloyed system to review in $ront o$ the
bathroom mirror" a realised that there was no discernable o!tward mani$estation o$ these
rocesses" whatsoever%
I started thinking abo!t how I(d had to #!it my job a $ew months be$ore" how I had to #!it
being a ho!se ainter" which I had been $or nearly three years% How I wasn(t able to
contin!e being a ro$essional ho!se ainter" even tho!gh there was nothing m!ch else I
co!ld do besides%
I know my $ather decided one day that he wanted to be a car salesman% So he bo!ght
some cars and lent money $rom his arents to rent a roerty aroriate $or car sales% He
decided that he wanted to be a carsalesman" he made lans towards becoming a car
salesman" and retty soon a$ter that we was a car salesman% He contin!ed to be a car
salesman" and he still is a car salesman now as I write this% It's hard for me to think of a
more incredible story%
I realised agency woman had been gestic!lating toward me over her desk%
I took a seat and in$ormed her o$ my move to the co!ntry" and I wo!ld have told her
abo!t the tro!t streams and my creative arts st!dio come $ly)tying worksho" which I had
settled on $or the b!ngalow" b!t she didn(t ask%
On the way home I stoed at the bottlesho and icked ! a longneck o$ beer" and bottle
o$ sa!vignon blanc that only cost $ive b!cks%
*hen I got home there was nobody aro!nd% I was living with a !ni $riend" an ind!strial
designer " who sent most o$ his time sketching redictably #!irky ideas $or chairs at his
st!dio a $ew blocks away% The other g!y in the ho!se was his Dad" I had seen him that
morning coming o!t o$ the job agency as I went in that morning" he sent most o$ his
time co!ghing l!g!brio!sly in his room" and went o!t every now and then" to make an
aointment to claim his disability allowance" or to collect big bo'es o$ dog br!shes he
got sent over $rom China $rom the ost o$$ice" which he sold online% He told !s the dog
br!sh racket was beginning to go so!r" so he had started to make a website $or selling old
coins" b!t he co!ld hardly move in his room $or all the bo'es o$ dog combs he(d bo!ght
already%
I !t the wine in the $ree+er to chill" and o!red mysel$ a glass o$ beer%
I took my beer into my room and began organi+e my things $or acking" I had moved so
many times that I had my st!$$ retty m!ch down to the bare essentials" I always
managed to $ind a bed and a desk somewhere" and the only things that I co!ldn(t carry
with me were my books and a neat stone sc!lt!re o$ a head I had $o!nd at a awnbroker%
The awnbroker told me it had been bro!ght in by a old man who had $o!nd it at a
market d!ring a bird watching tri to Pa!a ,ew -!inea" I(d taken it home and $o!nd a
sot $or it as a book sto on my shel$% The thing weighed a ton% .ater on I bo!ght an art
book which contained a drawing o$ a head" by a -erman artist called Pa!l /lee" which
had a $ace e'actly like the one my stone head had%
I started acking ! my books in the some bo'es I had $o!nd o!t the $ront o$ a grocers"
and took down the stone head" and wraed him ! in a illowcase% &$ter that I taed !
the bo'es and !t the rest o$ my st!$$ into bags" went into the living room" o!red o!t the
rest o$ the beer and took the wine o!t o$ the $ree+er and !t it in the door o$ the $ridge%
0y $riends $ather came co!ghing down the hallway% His name was ,eil% Every a$ternoon
he wo!ld come into the living room when I came home and in$orm me that the rice o$
gold had gone ! again%
1-old(s ! again1 he said" 1Seems like every other week it goes ! another h!ndred
b!cks%1
He lit the b!rner and !t the kettle on the stove" shaking his bearded head in incred!lity%
1&ll yo! need is a bit this big"1 he said" delineating the hantom n!gget in his alm with a
tobacco stained $inger" 1and yo!(ve made yo!rsel$ a co!le o$ h!ndred b!cks%1
I was never #!ite s!re what he was roosing we do with this in$ormation% He made
himsel$ a big c! o$ black co$$ee and sh!$$led back to the com$ort o$ his heated room%
The s!n had beg!n to come down behind the yard" and I started to $eel tired% The living
room seemed to grow very #!iet%
I went into my room" it made me $eel a little !neasy% I sh!t the emtied draws o$ my desk
and sat on the bed% I had le$t o!t my doona and illow" and a book I was hal$ way thro!gh
beside the bed" the rest o$ the things were in the bo'es and my bag% It was getting cold in
the room and I r!bbed my bare arms to warm them% The hairs had all sr!ng ! and my
$orearms were covered with gooseimles% 0y arms had gotten skinny since I had #!it
work" a co!le o$ months ago% &s I looked down at them I tho!ght o$ ainting ho!ses
thro!gh the hot s!mmer" and being ! in the s!n beside the ho!ses on tall ladders" and
a$terwards how ro!d I was o$ the strong cords o$ sinew that aeared beneath the
browned skin by the end o$ the season% 0y arms were looking m!ch aler now% &nd their
strength had grad!ally dissiated over the winter%
I lay down on the bed and stared $or a while at the ceiling" listening to the cars on the
road o!tside% I $elt an'io!s abo!t leaving tomorrow% I got ! and ran water in the bath% I
!t my moccasins and towel beside the basin" and got in be$ore it had even $illed ! to
hal$way%
I t!rned o$$ the water when it was $!ll and layed in the bath listening to the tinny m!sic
that came thro!gh the wall $rom the neighbo!rs $lat% I didn(t want to read or smoke a
cigarette" so I co!ld leave hands and arms !nder the water which I !s!ally wasn(t !s!ally
able to do2 and slid down in the bath as m!ch as I co!ld !ntil I was nearly all !nder the
hot water e'cet $or my $ace and the tis o$ my toes% Then I let my ears go beneath the
s!r$ace o$ the water and the tinny m!sic went away" and I heard the tra$$ic on the road
reverberating thro!gh the bath water%
In rimary school" some o$ the boys in my class !sed draw ma+es on aer torn $rom the
back o$ o!r e'cercise books" and ass them $rom one to another" to try and solve%
Only two or three drew these little lead encil ma+es" at $irst" and then soon all o$ the
boys started drawing them% I don(t remember any o$ the girls drawing ma+es" erhas
they weren(t interested in drawing" or weren(t interested in drawing mazes" or erhas I
j!st wasn(t old eno!gh to be interested in girls yet%
I remember becoming very serio!s abo!t drawing my ma+es% I remember how thin my
e'ercise books became 3we had one $or each s!bject" si'ty)$o!r ages I think4 once I
started becoming serio!s abo!t drawing ma+es" as I !lled o!t aer $rom the back to
draw them on% Then all the ages at the $ront o$ the book" the ages which contained my
st!dies" began to detach themselves $rom the book" so I learnt to rise oen the stales in
the centre instead" to take the ages $rom there" so that my teachers wo!ldn(t notice the
absent ages when I s!bmitted my books $or assessment%
The #!ality o$ the ma+es I worked on deended on the strictness o$ my teacher $or that
artic!lar class" as well as my interest in the s!bject% I remember my maths e'cercise
book retaining almost all o$ its si'ty)$o!r ages" not beca!se I enjoyed doing maths in
class2 in $act I detested math above all the other s!bjects" b!t my teacher $or maths was a
discilinarian" and I was too a$raid to monkey aro!nd drawing ma+es d!ring his classes"
and even i$ I had drawn ma+es in his classes" none o$ my colleag!es wo!ld have been
bold eno!gh to receive them $rom me" and to chance being ca!ght working o!t lead
encil ma+es d!ring maths class anyway%
&t risk o$ so!nding egocentric" I remember that there were only two ma+es drawers in the
class o$ signi$icance" the ma+e drawing avante-garde i$ yo! will% &nd nat!rally I consider
mysel$ to have been the $oremost o$ them" b!t even i$ any o$ my e'cercise books had
s!rvived $rom that eriod" I wo!ld not be able to s!ly the roo$" as lead encil ma+es
were" $or obvio!s reasons" never le$t in the back o$ e'cercise books% & teacher $inding a
lead encil ma+e in a st!dents e'cercise book" esecially in an e'cercise book o$ that
teachers resective s!bject" was a serio!s matter% The baro#!e intricacy o$ some o$ my
later lead encil ma+es artic!larly" 3considering the degree o$ abstraction with which a
teacher co!ld be e'ected to view these comositions4 were a condemning testament to
my comlete immersion in innovative lead encil ma+e constr!ction" to the comlete
e'cl!sion o$ any knowledge that a teacher might have been trying to imart d!ring the
d!ration o$ that lesson%
The earlier ma+es were so rimitive" that in $act they co!ld not" in consideration o$ the
radical s!bse#!ent develoments" be considered tr!e lead encil ma+es at all" and erhas
co!ld be more $ittingly be called lead encil proto-ma+es% I e'ect i$ evidence o$ the lead
encil ma+e drawings were to be !ncovered" they wo!ld be o$ this variety" they co!ld
s!rvive !ndisg!ised in the margins at the $ront o$ the book" too $eebly considered to
warrant distrib!tion to a lead encil ma+e solver 3or lead encil proto-ma+e solver as the
case may be4" and simlisitic eno!gh as to aear comletely innocent" and to not re#!ire
eras!re% The lead encil proto-ma+e rarely emloyed more than a single e'ressive
gest!re%
The beginning o$ lead encil ma+e era proper" commenced !nder the in$l!ence o$ two
cometing systems" one o$ which was roosed and develoed by mysel$" and its rival"
which aeared" as I see it" shortly a$ter" tho!gh I remember that the designer o$ this
system re$erred to believe that they had develoed conc!rrently%
The constr!ction o$ my tye o$ ma+e was an int!itive a$$air" and the roer s!ccessor o$
the gest!ral proto)ma+es in that they were insired chie$ly by the e'ressive gest!re%
They were sens!o!s arabes#!es" a age o$ sin!o!s channels in which the breadth o$ the
aths shrank dramatically as each ath was slit into s!cceedingly smaller ones at
care$!lly contrived j!nctions" which branched into m!ltile s!b)aths" some o$ which
a$ter a long and tort!o!s meanderings ended abr!tly in dead ends" where they came into
c!l)de)sacs necessitated by the overall design o$ the ma+e" or the limitations o$ the aer%
The aths which didn(t terminate in this manner wo!ld cond!ct the solver to $!rther
j!nctions" with an increasing n!mber o$ s!b)aths" at each j!nction the aths wo!ld
necessarily be drawn narrower and narrower" !ntil in order to remain contained with the
ages borders" the aths were scarcely greater in width than the oint o$ the encil !sed
to navigate them" esecially as roerly sharened encils were in scant s!ly among
the encil bo'es rovided by the school%
The alternate style o$ ma+e had a more rigoro!sly geometical constr!ction% The boy who
develoed this tye o$ ma+e having a more mathematical redisosition% These ma+es
were generally set within the strict!res o$ e!clidian geometrical archetyes" most
commonly a circle" s#!are or rectangle% These geometrical ma+es were very di$$erent
$rom mine" in as m!ch as they develoed their intricacy $rom breaking down the area
within a given $orm into a series o$ chambers" each o$ which o$$ering a n!mber o$
oort!nities $or movement into adjacent saces" the dead ends being chambers which
necessitated retreat as the only available otion%
The objective o$ the ma+es was the same" to arrive at a dead)end marked with the letter
(E(" $or end% The end o$ my ma+es was !s!ally determined by the constraints o$ whatever
sace I had remaining on the aer" however in some o$ my more insired e$$orts it was
redetermined" !s!ally the ideal being to concl!de a ma+e in achingly close ro'imity to
the oint o$ deart!re% The geometric ma+e" in its most classical $orm" terminated with a
small chamber nestled in the absol!te centre%
Each style had it(s committed e'onents" altho!gh their were some boys which de$ected
$rom one lead encil ma+e ideology to the other% I remembered that the lead encil ma+e
cra+e $or all it(s intensity had been a short one" and s!bse#!ently so had that heady eriod
o$ o!larity amongst my eers%
The bath water had become $rigid while mind had been !ntangling my lead encil ma+e
recollections" which had s!r$aced in my mind so abr!tly and clearly" so I climbed o!t
and !lled o!t the l!g and br!shed my teeth% *hen I came o!t o$ the bathroom I saw
,eil sitting in the kitchen with a $ilterless cigarette in his beard hidden mo!th" and a glass
o$ wine in $ront o$ him" the bottle o$ sa!vignon blanc was ne't to emty" he m!st have
been sitting o!t there the whole time I was in the bathroom%

I sat down at the table" rolled one o$ his smokes and we both sat there $or a little while
silently smoking" me j!st sitting in my dam towel and t shirt% He knew I was leaving
early in the morning so I g!essed he had waited $or me to come o!t o$ the bath to say
goodbye" or maybe he was j!st getting dr!nk%
1They $o!nd all the big st!$$ back then" o$ co!rse%1 he said% 5!t there(s still all the small
bits% They didn(t bother to get all the small bits" wasn(t worth their while back then% 5!t
now we have the means" we(ve got the e#!iment now% I$ yo! send eno!gh time" there(s
still lenty le$t $or a erson to get by o!t there"1 he said%
16o!(ve j!st got to be atient" i$ yo!(ve got the atience and i$ yo! don(t mind making do
with the small st!$$" there(s still lenty eno!gh%1