The piece of lead was eagerly handed round, the colonel cutting it with a knife to make certain that there was no deception about it.
"With this powder, lead becomes silver; silver becomes gold, though its virtues cannot produce gold from lead, through the medium of silver. I see an earthenware platter yonder; wouldst mind handing it to me?"
In breathless silence we watched the merchant place the bar of lead on the platter and carefully sprinkle a small quantity of the powder upon it.
With a taper, he applied a light to the powder, and immediately there appeared a fierce blue light which dazzled our eyes, and a thick yellowish smoke that made us gasp for breath.
The light disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving us blinking in the sudden change from the brilliant glare to the semi-darkness of the room; but, when our eyes grew accustomed to the change, there, on the plate, lay a bar of pure silver!
"And now, concerning the conversion of silver into gold?" asked Colonel Firestone.
"Ah, I have excited thy curiosity, then?"
"I would see the whole business through."
"Then ye shall, though, by necessity, it takes longer than doth the production of silver. Hast any silver articles upon your person?"
"None, save a crown or two."