"Ketch hold, boys," he cried, "it's so heavy I can't hardly heft it."
Willing hands soon drew the box up upon the crazy floor, and Nat produced the rusty hammer.
"Now to see if it was all a dream or reality," he cried, as he brought the tool down on the half rotten covering. The wood split with a rending sound and displayed within a number of dull-looking, half translucent rocks.
"Junk!" cried Cal, who had hoisted himself out of the hole by this time, "a lot of blame worthless old pyrites."
"Not py a chug ful," came an excited voice as Herr Muller pressed forward, "dem is der purest sapphires I haf effer seen."
"How do you know?" demanded Nat quickly.
"Pecos vunce py Amstertam I vork py a cheweller's. I know stones in der rough and dese is an almost priceless gollecdion."
"Hoorooh!" yelled Cal, "we'll all be rich."
He stepped quickly forward and prepared to scoop up a handful of the rough-looking stones, but Nat held him back.