"It is gold!" and Mr. Conroyal looked up, his face white and his eyes shining. "It is gold; and enough of it to make us all rich beyond our fondest dreams. No wonder the miner called it the Cave of Gold."
"IT IS GOLD! IT IS GOLD! AND ENOUGH OF IT TO MAKE US ALL RICH BEYOND OUR FONDEST DREAMS."
"Gold! Gold! Now Ruth shall have her breastpin nugget and gold necklace!" and Thure, with hands that trembled so that he could hardly hold the candle, began an excited search for the largest chunk of gold that he could find. In two minutes he had found one about the size and the shape of a robin's egg. "The very thing!" he cried. "That will make a magnificent breastpin," and he quickly picked it up and began searching for the nuggets to go into the promised necklace.
During this time Bud was quickly gathering up the largest nuggets he could find; for a similar purpose but for a different girl; and the fingers of all the others were busy in the same exciting way.
For half an hour all forgot everything, but the shining pellets that covered the bottom of the cave. Then Rex suddenly straightened up.
"Great Washington! I'm forgetting dad!" he exclaimed. "I must go to dad at once," and he started for the hole that gave passageway to the outer world.