I probed right in as I waded amongst the gloomy parts and then went on to where it became dark, but still I was not discouraged, but came slowly back towards where the barrier of rocks blocked the entrance, down beneath which the little stream plunged to reappear some yards on the other side; and here in the most open part of all, but screened from the sight of any one in the valley—here, where the water formed a little pool beneath the creeper-matted rocks, I gave the rod a hard thrust down as far as it could be driven, bending so that my shoulder was beneath the water, when my heart leaped and then beat tumultuously, for the rod touched something. I tried again.
Yes, there was something beneath the sand!
Was it rock—stone?
I tried again; tapping with the iron.
No; it was not stone!
Was it metal?
I tried again, after examining the point of the rod, and this time drove it down fiercely.
Yes, it was metal; but the question to solve was this—
Was it gold?