"Looks like the real stuff,—hey?"
"Looks like it to ME, all right!"
Everybody was interested, brightened up, happy and good-natured. They smiled and joked over the gold. Only one man seemed at all troubled in his mind.
"There's jus' one thing," I heard him say to two other men, "there's jus' one thing that kinder worries me. If we go ahead and perdoose gold at this rate, we're goin' to flood the market! Yessir! Gold will get so common that the price of everything will go sky-high, an' that'll raise old Ned!"
The other two looked pretty serious at this, and they started to discuss it. One of them thought they had better hold back most of the gold, "and only spring it on people a little at a tune."
Suddenly Mr. Snider shouted: "Now, friends, if you please, we will go down to the wharf for the demonstration!"
CHAPTER X
MR. SNIDER
It was hard to get them started—they were clustered so thick around the Deacon and his little box, all talking and laughing and discussing. Everyone was awake now, and animated,—if those six little yellow lumps of gold had appeared sooner, even the Hon. J. Harvey Bowditch couldn't have put the people to sleep.
By sending the Deacon and the gold nuggets ahead, the procession was formed again for the wharf. The band stayed in the yard, playing tune after tune, and enjoying themselves immensely.