“And the latest prospect?” asked Chester.
“In the valley, near Bohio.”
“What have you found there?”
“Clay-slate, hornblende, emeralds.”
“In large quantities?” asked Chester, anxiously.
“There is a fortune underground there,” was the reply. “Green argillaceous rock means something.”
There was silence for some moments, during which Van Ellis pored over some drawings on his desk, Chester walked the floor excitedly, Gostel regarded the others with a sinister smile on his face, and Itto, the recent arrival, sat watching all the others as a cat watches a mouse.
“And this territory will be under the Lake of Gatun?” Chester asked, presently.
“Yes, very deep under the Lake of Gatun,” was Itto’s reply.
Again Van Ellis bent over the drawings, tracing on one with the point of a pencil.