Of these heaps there proved to be fifty-three, their total value, Alan reckoned, amounting to about L100,000 sterling.

Then the carpenters were set to work to make a model box, which they did quickly enough and with great ingenuity, cutting the wood with their native saws, dovetailing it as a civilized craftsman would do, and finally securing it everywhere with ebony pegs, driven into holes which they bored with a hot iron.

The result was a box that would stand any amount of rough usage and when finally pegged down, one that could only be opened with a hammer and a cold chisel.
This box-making went on for two whole days.

As each of them was filled and pegged down, the gold within being packed in sawdust to keep it from rattling, Alan amused himself in adding an address with a feather brush and a supply of red paint such as the Asiki priests used to decorate their bodies.

At first he was puzzled to know what address to put, but finally decided upon the following: _Major A.Vernon, care of Miss Champers, The Court, near Kingswell, England._ Adding in the corner, _From A.V., Asiki Land, Africa._ It was all childish enough, he knew, yet when it was done he regarded his handiwork with a sort of satisfaction.