A SHREWD TRICK.
People in general cannot understand the doings of a student of nature. Especially quite ignorant persons are apt to conclude, when told that the objects of his search are fossils or minerals, that under this explanation is concealed the purpose of securing some buried treasure, for that is the only thing that would induce them to dig. Mr. A. L. Adams relates an amusing instance of this reasoning.
"While excavating a large cavern on the southern coast of Malta, we had dug a trench in the soil on its floor some six feet in depth, in quest of organic remains. The natives in the vicinity, hearing of our presence, came in numbers daily to witness the proceedings, interrogating the workmen with reference to the object of our researches, of which the workmen were about as ignorant as themselves.
"One afternoon three stalwart fellows paid us a visit, and whilst they sat on the heap of dirt staring down into the dark ditch below, I dropped a Spanish dollar on a shovelful of earth, and the next moment it lay with the soil on the heap. Picking it up in a careless manner, I put it into our luncheon-bag, and a few minutes afterwards our friends disappeared, muttering to one another as they went.
"Great was our amusement the next morning to find that our trench had been carried fully four feet below the level we had gained on the previous evening. Not only that; several other excellent sections of the floor had been made by the natives in expectation of finding buried treasure."
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