"But what about the real gold which was there at first?" inquired Emu Bill. "It was yellow enough, or I'm colour blind."
Bob looked a trifle puzzled. "I should say it was an unstable chloride or sulphide of the metal," he ventured at length. "A combination which very seldom occurs in Nature."
"I'm o' the opinion that Bob's right," spoke Mackay. "This country's full o' odd formations and no one has ever bothered studying them yet."
"If you can save this stuff afore it melts, Bob," grunted Nuggety Dick, "there's bound to be a fortune waiting for you right here; for the clay most likely covers the whole flat."
"I'll take these specimens with me now," decided Bob, "and try some experiments with them;" and he gathered up the deceptive samples and made his way back to the tent, leaving the wondering assembly still in a maze of doubt.
"I do believe he can do it," grunted Emu Bill.
"He's got the finest balanced brain-box I've seen since I struck this howling wilderness," commented Never Never Dave.
"Bob can do anything with chemistry," said Jack, proudly. Then they went their several ways, all pondering deeply.
No more work was done that day: it would have seemed like tempting Providence to continue further operations after two such thrilling happenings had taken place. Bob quietly set about his task of analyzing the troublesome specimens, then quickly discovered that he required a stock of various acids and alkalis to aid him in his efforts.