l-top and smiled.

"We'll take back a load of tungsten," he announced to the drivers and
the crowd of onlookers stared.

"Just load on that white stuff," he explained to the muckers and there
was a general rush for the dump.

"What did you say that stuff was?" inquired Death Valley Charley, after
a hasty look at his specimen; and Keno awaited the answer, breathless.

"Why, that's scheelite, Charley," replied Wiley confidentially, "and it
runs about sixty per cent tungsten. It comes in pretty handy to harden
those big guns that you hear shooting over in France."

"Oh, tungsten," muttered Charley, blinking wisely at the rock while
everyone else grabbed a sample. "Er--what do you say they use it for?"

"Why, to harden high-speed steel for guns and turning-tools--haven't you
read all about it in the papers?"

"How much did you say it was worth?" asked the Widow cautiously, and
Wiley knew that the bombshell was ignited.

"Well, that's a question," he began, "that I can answer better when I
get a report on this ore. It's all mixed up with quartz and ought to be
milled, by rights, before I even ship it; but since the trucks are going
back--well, if it turns out the way I calculate it might bring me forty
dollars a unit."

"A unit!" repeated the Widow, her voice low and measured. "Well, I'd
just like to know how much a unit is?"

"A hundredth of the standard of measure--in this case a ton of ore. That
would come to twenty pounds."

"Twenty pounds! What, of this stuff? And worth forty dollars! Well,
somebody must be crazy!"

"Yes, they're crazy for it," answered Wiley, "but it's just a temporary
rage, brought on by the European war. The market is likely to break any
time."

"Why--tungsten!" murmured the Widow. "Who ever heard of such a thing?
And it's been lying here idle all the time."

"How much would that be a ton?" piped up someone in the crowd, and Mrs.
Huff put her head to one side.

"Let's see," she said, "forty dollars a unit--that's one hundredth of
a ton. Oh, pshaw, it can't be that. Let's see, twenty pounds at forty
dollars--that's two dollars a pound; and two thousand pounds,
that's--oh, I don't believe it! I never even heard of tungsten!"

"No, it's a new metal," replied Wiley ever so softly, "or rather, it's
an acid. The technical magazines are full of articles that tell you all
about it. It's found in wolframite, and hubnerite and so on; but this is
calcium tungstate, where it is found in conne