u get for tryin' your hand at prospecting," Sam said,
with a laugh, and Fred arose to his feet with a rueful look on his face,
which caused his companion yet more mirth.

"It may be sport for you, but I don't see anything so funny about
knocking all the skin off----Hello! What a queer looking rock I tumbled
over!"

He had turned, and was gazing at the projecting point, a fragment of
which was broken, when Sam came up to learn the cause of his companion's
astonishment.

"Why, it looks like coal!" he exclaimed, taking a piece from the ground
to examine it more closely, and an instant later Fred was startled by
hearing him shout, "It is coal! The vein at Farley's must run straight
through the hill!"

"Then this belongs to the company."

"Not a bit of it. The one who owns the land can work here, and if we
could raise money enough to buy ten or fifteen acres on this side of the
hill, Byram and Thorpe would be mighty rich fellows."

CHAPTER XIX

THE CONSULTATION

It is not to be wondered at that the boys were in a perfect fever of
excitement because of their startling discovery.

They uncovered the spurs of pure coal sufficiently to learn that it was
a true vein, and, judging from the indications, there could be no
question but it extended over a large area just below the surface.

"Is it as good as that taken out at Farley's?" Fred asked, when they
ceased digging for a moment.

"I can't see any difference. Why, you and I alone could mine enough to
make us pretty near rich, for there's neither shaft nor slope to be
made."

"Do you suppose this land is valuable?"

"For farming purposes it isn't worth a cent, and unless the owner knows
what is here it could be bought for a song."

"What is the price of a song according to that estimate?"

"Well, say a thousand dollars for a hundred acres."

"But you wouldn't need as much in order to get at this vein."

"Buildings would be necessary after a while, an' you'd want a track to
get the coal into market."

"Don't you suppose we could manage to get a thousand dollars?"

"If you count on doin' it by workin' at Farley's, it would take about a
thousand years. All the money I can earn has to be used by the family
now that father isn't working."

"But can we do nothin'?"

"It does seem kinder tough to find a fortune, and not be able to take
advantage of it, but I can't figure out how we can turn it to account."

"Let's fill our pockets with these pieces,