rieved to own
the truth, and finally jerked it away from him so that it might fall
into the canyon.

"Yes," he growled; "that's silver ore, but it's very poor."

"Poor, Joses?"

"Yes; horrid poor. There wasn't above half of that silver; all the rest
was stone. I like to see it in great solid lumps that don't want any
melting. That's what I call silver. Don't think much of this."

"Well, it's a grand view, at all events, Joses," said Bart.

"It's a big view, and you can see far enough for anything," he growled.
"You can see so far that you can't see any farther; but I don't see no
good in that. What's the good of a view that goes so far you can't see
it? Just as well have no view at all."

"Why, you are never satisfied, Joses," laughed Bart.

"Never satisfied! Well, I don't see nothing in this to satisfy a man.
You can't eat and drink a view, and it won't keep Injun off from you.
Pshaw! views are about no good at all."

"Bart!"

It was the Doctor calling, and on the lad running to him it was to find
that he was standing by a great chasm running down far into the body of
the mountain, with rough shelving slopes by which it was possible to
descend, though the task looked risky except to any one of the firmest
nerve.

"Look down there, Bart," said the Doctor, rather excitedly; "what do you
make of it?"

Bart took a step nearer so as to get a clearer view of the rent, rugged
pit, at one side of which was a narrow, jagged slit where the sunshine
came through, illumining what would otherwise have been gloomy in the
extreme.

How far the chasm descended it was impossible to see from its
irregularity, the sides projecting in great buttresses here and there,
all of grey rock, while what had seemed to be the softer portions had
probably crumbled away. Here and there, though, glimpses could be
obtained of what looked like profound depths where all was black and
still.

"What should you think this place must have been?" said the Doctor, as
if eager to hear the lad's opinion.

"Wait a minute, sir," replied Bart, loosening a great fragment of rock,
which with some difficulty he pushed to the edge, and then, placing his
foot to it, thrust it over, and then bent forward to hear it fall.

The distance before it struck was not great, for there was a huge mass
of rock projecting some fifty feet below upon which the stone fell,
glanced off, and struck against the opposite side, with the effect that
it was again