naries. "Sit down," he said imperiously,
and his face, when he turned to the light, was knotted with trouble.
He sat for a moment with bent head while he strengthened his heart to
a bitter and humiliating task. He began abruptly:

"Dan, you remember the time I brought the amalgam home in a vial and
it had turned green?"

"I do. Yis."

"You remember that you gave it up right then."

"I did. I said it's 'witch's gould.'"

"Sure such it looked like that day," said Biddy.

"All the same, the thing which scared you put a happy thought into my
head, and I felt then I could solve it." He lifted his head and looked
around defiantly. "In short, when I bought your stock in at ten cents
on the dollar I knew it was worth par, for I had solved the process."

There was a silence very awesome following the defiant ring of the
voice.

Eldred was the first to comprehend what it meant. His eyes glittered
like those of an awakened rat.

"Do you mean that? If that's true you robbed us, you thief, robbed us
cold and clean." He sprang up. "I knew you'd do something----"

"Sit down," interrupted Clement harshly. "I'm not going to have any
words with you. If I had seen fit not to tell you of this how much
would you have known of it? Sit down and keep your tongue between your
teeth." He turned to Dan and his voice was softer. "Dan, when I was
hungry you took me in and fed me. For that I've given you a good
position. Is that debt paid?"

"Sure, Clement, me boy, it was only a sup of p'taties an' bacon,
annyway."

"Biddy, I turned over two thousand dollars to you, and rebuilt your
eating-house. You thought that paid the debt I owed you?"

Biddy was slower to answer. "For all the grub an' the loikes o' that,
indade yis, Mr. Clement--but sure we wor pardners----"

Clement interrupted. "I know. I'm coming to that. Now answer me. If it
hadn't been for me wouldn't you have thrown up the sponge long before
you did?"

The silence of the little group answered him.

"Would any of you ever have worked out the mystery of that ore?
Weren't you all anxious to sell for anything you could get?"

They were all silent as before.

"I made the mine worth money. I discovered the secret, it was my
invention. I paid you four times what you had put into it. The mine
was worthless until I invented a process for saving the gold. I
claimed it as an invention like any man claims a patent right. I
believed I had a right to it--to all of it, and so I b