Fugleman otter leaped
down, and, seizing the supplemental pick between his teeth, mouthed
it over to the digger. Then the amphibious monster took in the same
manner the broken pick, and bore it round the circle of his suite,
who inspected it with puffs.

"These strange magical proceedings disconcerted and somewhat
baffled the miser; but he plucked up heart, for the prize was
priceless, and worked on more cautiously with his second pick. At
last its bows and the regular thumps of the otters' tails called
forth a sound hollower and hollower. His circle of spectators
narrowed so that he could feel their panting breath as they bent
curiously over the little pit he had dug.

"The crisis was evidently at hand.

"He lifted each scale of rock more delicately. Finally he raised a
scale so thin that it cracked into flakes as he turned it over.
Beneath was a large square cavity.

"It was filled to the brim with hiaqua.

"He was a millionaire.

"The otters recognized him as the favorite of Tamanous, and retired
to a respectful distance.

"For some moments he gazed on his treasure, taking thought of his
future grandeur among the dwellers by Whulge. He plunged his arm
deep as he could go; there was still nothing but the precious
shells. He smiled to himself in triumph; he had wrung the secret
from Tamanous. Then, as he withdrew his arm, the rattle of the
hiaqua recalled him to the present. He saw that noon was long past,
and he must proceed to reduce his property to possession.

"The hiaqua was strung upon long, stout sinews of elk in bunches of
fifty shells on each side. Four of these he wound about his waist;
three he hung across each shoulder; five he took in each
hand;--twenty strings of pure white hiaqua, every shell large,
smooth, unbroken, beautiful. He could carry no more; hardly even
with this could he stagger along. He put down his burden for a
moment, while he covered up the seemingly untouched wealth of the
deposit carefully with the scale stones, and brushed snow over the
whole.

"The miser never dreamed of gratitude, never thought to hang a
string of the buried treasure about the salmon and kamas tamanous
stones, and two strings around the elk-head; no, all must be his
own, all he could carry now, and the rest for th