“Wait, I’ll get my box and show you,” offered Peg; and Cleo went to the “safe” with her to get out the square japanned box. They returned to the council almost immediately. Then Peg took from the box a number of stones.
“See,” she said to her audience, “you asked me what zinc looked like. Here are some pieces.”
The Scouts examined the specimens and passed them from one to another.
“And are they found around here?” asked Miss Mackin.
“Yes; dad found some and I found others. That is what I have been searching for with my little hand-drill. Don’t you remember you saw me on the big rock the day of your picnic?” asked Peg.
“Yes, we thought you were digging gold,” joked Corene. “But I suppose zinc is quite as valuable.”
“Indeed, it is, if we could only find the lost vein,” went on Peg. “The men you have seen prowling around here are hired by Mr. Fairbanks. But if they had discovered the ore on daddy’s claim I should have fought them for it,” declared the plucky girl, emphatically.
She was taking out from the box stone after stone.
“See this,” she said, holding up a flat, gray piece. “This is the clue. See those marks?”
Instantly the same thought flashed through the minds of the Scouts.