“What!” cried Brace. “Why, I can’t see a bit of metal.”
“Look again,” said Briscoe, and, dipping his shallow bowl, he gave it a clever twist to get rid of the water again and leave the fine sand spread all round and over the bottom.
He held the bowl full in the sunshine, with the last drops of water draining off.
“Now,” he said, turning to Brace, “what can you see?”
“Nothing at all,” said Brace.
“Nothing?”
“Well, there’s a tiny speck, and something that looks just yellowish right in the middle there. But you don’t call that gold?”
“Well, it isn’t silver,” said Briscoe, laughing, “so I do call it gold.”
“Absurd!” said Brace.
“Oh, no, it isn’t. That’s good gold, and if properly treated the sand and gravel are rich enough to pay well.”