The partially emptied cartridge-belt was made to do duty as a casket, and it is safe to say that no similar contrivance was ever laden with a tithe of the riches that particular one held.
"Ah," reflected the young man again and again, "if only the Professor and Long were here to help me!" But there came the time, all too soon, when he was forced to admit that it was useless to attempt to carry more.

He had the wealth of a prince about his person, and yet the storehouse showed no diminution of its boundless supply, which was enough to burden a regiment of soldiers.
Gold, the most precious of all metals, for which men delve and starve and toil and die, still lies hidden in immeasurable masses, in unsuspected places, screened perhaps by a thin sheeting of earth, over which thousands have tramped, never dreaming of the boundless riches just beneath their feet.

And rubies and diamonds strew the bottom of the ocean or scintillate within caverns and caves, as they have shone and gleamed through ages, still waiting for the fortunate miner or explorer to bring them to light and the gaze of an admiring world.
"If I ever live to get away from this spot," added Ashman, when he ceased his wonderful garnering, "I will bring a force here; I can afford to make it irresistible by King Haffgo, for every one of the men can take away a fortune and leave more than enough for these barbarians." "I can take no more," he said, turning his flushed face upon the radiant countenance just behind him; "King Haffgo will never miss these, but when I carry you to my distant home, Ariel, where I shall cherish and love you forever, these diamonds will bring us such wealth that we shall never know the meaning of want; every luxury that affection can dream of, or heart can crave, shall be yours." "The greatest luxury my heart yearns for," said she softly, "is _your_ love." "And that you have now," he replied catching her in his arms and straining her to his heart.
"I am sure of it," replied the happy maiden, resisting no longer the ardent embrace of him whose affection seemed to grow with every passing hour.
"All that I pray heaven to grant is the opportunity to prove to you that you are not mistaken.

I do not want to leave here or ever see my home again unless you are with me.

I shall live or die with you, for death with you is preferable to life without you, my cherished, my own Ariel." The radiant countenance was illumined by a light such as only the divine passion can impart.