stonished to speak. Fayette's wildest dreams had,
evidently, come true. Cleena could not believe her eyes. Never in all
her life had she seen so many precious coins. They were dimmed by age
and moisture, yet, unmistakably, they were of gold, with a few that
might be silver. All the fairy tales of her beloved Ireland rushed
through her mind, and she regarded the half-wit with a new veneration.

"Sure, you're one o' them elf-men, I believe; that different from
ordinary you can even make dollars o' doughnuts. Arrah musha, 'twas a
smart decent day when Miss Amy fetched you home to Fairacres! Sent, was
ye, to make the old family rich; and the marvel o' cure in your long,
lean hands. Troth, I'm struck all of a heap."

But Fayette was not. He had never been so active. He began to gather up
the coins which had been scattered by the breaking of the chest and, for
want of something better in which to store them, pulled Cleena's apron
from her waist and piled them in that. She sat on, silently regarding
him. For a few minutes she honestly believed that he was a genuine
specimen of the "little people" who were said to make green Erin their
favorite home. But when he began to gabble in a hoarse, excited tone of
how he had long been expecting this "find"; how he had watched his
opportunity when all the household should be absent that he might
disobey and use the explosive that would lessen his labor so greatly,
she came back to common sense.

[Illustration: "HE BEGAN TO GATHER UP THE COINS."]

"So you've been lookin' for it, have ye? Well, now you've got it, but ye
might ha' been killed in the job. What for no? With Mister Fred gone to
town an' him tellin' ye most explicit ye should no touch nor meddle at
all. Was aught like this found in either of them mushroom ones?"

"I--don't--know," answered Fayette, slowly, still stooping and tying his
bundle. "If there was--that man's--got it. It was _mine_. _I_ begun the
digging. I--"

"An' he finished, eh? Well, you take up your pack an' put it here in my
dresser. Then go wash your face. Such a sight! Hold, did ye any more
harm there below?"

"Harm! harm! to dig such a treasure as this out of my mine? Well, if I
used only a little bit of powder and got so much, what a lot I might
have found if I'd used more. I'll bet the whole ground is full."

"Oh, ye silly! Put that stuff down. It's makin' ye lose what little
sense you've got. An', me neighbor, look here. See them beautiful
biscui