“The professor, somewhat annoyed at this intrusion, blinked sleepily at them for a while, and then proceeded to sort and stow away his latest acquired specimens, amongst which were some splendid bits of pyrites, glittering richly in the sun.
“One of our visitors was not unknown to me. He was a certain Joe Tobin, of ill repute, hailing from Francis Village. The other was an older looking man, with high cheek-bones and little, pig-like, half-shut eyes.
“The appearance of neither had any attraction for me, but the Indian with the pig-like eyes I found particularly distasteful.
“These eyes grew intent at once, as they caught the yellow gleam of the pyrites; but their owner preserved his air of stoical indifference.
“Approaching the professor’s side, he sought a closer examination; but the professor was not propitiatory. He dumped the ore into his specimen-box before the Indian could touch it; and shifting the box deeper into the shade, he took his seat upon it. The box was plainly heavy, and a gleam of interest crept into the cunning eyes of Joe.
“‘Gold, mebbe?’ he suggested persuasively.
“To which the professor, facetiously grumpy, answered, ‘Yes, all gold! Fools’ gold!’
“At this a most greedy glance passed furtively between the Indians, and it flashed upon me that by the barbaric ear ‘Fools’ gold’ might be misinterpreted to ‘Full of gold.’
“I gave the rash professor a warning look, which Joe intercepted. I then proceeded to explain what was meant by ‘Fools’ gold,’ and declared that the things in the professor’s box were valueless bits of rock, which we had picked up chiefly out of curiosity. This statement, however, as I could see by our visitors’ faces, was at once regarded as a cunning and cautious lie to conceal the vast value of our treasure.
“‘Whereabouts you get um?’ queried Joe again.