Greed was still working on the patch of land, while Pride and Barry carved pumpkins inside the house. The task was simple enough: first use a knife to sketch out the basic shape, then scoop out all the pumpkin pulp inside. But since they were going to eat the scooped-out parts, they had to wear Gauntlets and make sure everything was clean.
Because the pumpkin was rather large, the two worked together. Barry stood on the table to carve the eyes of the jack-o'-lantern, while Pride carved the mouth below. Then they began talking about the lake.
"I can completely understand why you wanted to move here, Professor. That old manor was certainly nice—plenty of space, and a beautiful garden—but artificial scenery still can't compare to nature. The lake must be beautiful at sunset."
"Yes. It wasn't simply a warm color, nothing like sunsets on the West Coast. It wasn't so blazing, but carried a kind of Gotham desolation. Have you seen those old buildings on Green Street? It was as though they had poured the centuries from when the Irish first set foot on this land until now straight into the lake."
"Did they really not pour it in?" Barry muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing. I mean, that's a fitting description. It's a very cold lake. I heard the streams flow into Gotham River, or do they run directly into the sea?"
"They flow into the river, then into the sea together." After a pause, Pride said, "A very, very long time ago, there was a factory here that made gold-mining equipment. It moved away soon after, and the area was developed into a residential community."
"A gold-mining equipment factory? Don't tell me it was from the Gold Rush era?"
"I think it was. But that was only a temporary boom.