After taking out a somewhat rumpled shirt, a suit of underclothes and a couple of pair of socks, Prawle said:
“Now, young gents, I’m going to show you some of the finest specimens of real virgin copper ever dug out of mother earth.”
“Oh!” exclaimed Charlie, a slight shade of disappointment in his voice, “I thought it was gold or silver quartz you had there. But copper——”
“Young man,” said Prawle, diving one hairy paw into his grip and fishing out a magnificent specimen of raw copper, “look at that and hold your breath. There is ninety per cent of copper in that hunk. Think of that! It has only to be separated from its rocky matrix, when it is ready for market. That chunk, just as I took it from the mine, where there are thousands and thousands of tons of it waiting to be dug out, is almost chemically pure copper. That mine, young gentlemen, is a marvel. There’s millions in it. Nothing in this country to match it outside of the great Calumet and Hecla mine of Michigan, which has an annual production of 50,000,000 pounds.”
Jack Howard examined the specimen with great interest.
“Where is this mine you speak of?”
Gideon Prawle winked one eye expressively and moistened his lips with his tongue.
“It’s in Montana,” he said, with a significant grin.
“That’s a pretty big State,” said Jack. “Whereabouts in Montana?”
“That’s my secret,” said Prawle, “and I’m going to Chicago to sell it.”