It was simply a fragment detached from the outcrop, lying loosely on the ledge but upholding him by ITS OWN WEIGHT ONLY.

He examined it with trembling fingers; the encumbering soil fell from its sides and left its smoothed and worn protuberances glistening in the moonlight.

It was virgin gold! Looking back upon that moment afterwards, he remembered that he was not dazed, dazzled, or startled.

It did not come to him as a discovery or an accident, a stroke of chance or a caprice of fortune.

He saw it all in that supreme moment; Nature had worked out their poor deduction.