re all
deposited in a knapsack which they had taken with them for the purpose.
This done, the American seized a pickaxe and began to dig into the face
of the cliff, pausing at intervals to take a rest while Cavendish
shovelled away the debris. The rock was not at all difficult to work,
yielding readily to the blows of the pickaxe and coming away in lumps
the size of one's fist, or even bigger, consequently it was not very
long before, between them, they had excavated a cavity of considerable
size. But after nearly two hours of strenuous toil without result, they
retired from the hole for a time to rest, and were debating the question
whether or not it was worth while to pursue the investigation any
further, Earle being rather of opinion that Dick's find had been merely
an isolated pocket, and that they might seek for weeks or possibly
months, without finding any more emeralds, when, without the slightest
warning, the hole in which they had been working suddenly caved in,
laying bare a new face, some nine or ten square yards in area. And when
at length the face had ceased to crumble and the dust had subsided, the
first thing to attract their attention was an emerald nearly as big as a
duck's egg projecting from the newly exposed rock. This they carefully
dug out, afterwards proceeding to search among the fallen rock, in which
they eventually found two other very fine stones.

"There!" exclaimed Earle, with a sigh of satisfaction, when at length
they had thoroughly examined and cleared away the fallen rock. "I guess
we've done enough; for we've demonstrated that this is a sure-'nough
mine. See that stuff round the place where we picked out the emerald?
That is calcite, and this rock is a black limestone; all the indications
are, therefore, in favour of this being a genuine emerald mine, which we
can work, if we choose, on our return journey. Now, we'll just dig out
that mass of calcite and carefully cover it up, so that in the
exceedingly unlikely event of any other prospector passing this way,
there will be little or nothing to attract his attention; and to-morrow,
before we resume our march, we will determine the exact position of this
spot by astronomical observations and make a note of it in our diaries,
so that we can find the place again. Meanwhile, we have not done at all
badly this afternoon, for I guess the contents of this knapsack are
worth a good many thousand dollars."

It was nightfall by the time t