forth from it a little
round black ball. "Worse an' worse," he said, as he handed the ball to
me. "We've got down t' what looks like lumps o' shoemaker's wax now.
That's about th' sickest lookin' thing t' call itself treasure I ever
did see!"

It did not seem to me probable that the little ball was shoemaker's wax;
but in order to settle this point experimentally I cut into it with my
penknife. Under the gummy exterior I found a layer of cotton-wool, and
enclosed in this a hard substance about the size of a hazel-nut. While I
was making this examination, Young investigated into the contents of
the remaining vases--which themselves were exceedingly interesting,
being made of hammered gold and most curiously engraved.

"They're no good," he said, "except I s'pose th' mugs must be worth
somethin'. Shoemaker's wax in 'em all! It's worse 'an th'
porter-bottles--for what's th' use o' shoemaker's wax t' folks who don't
rightly know what a shoe is? Come along, I say, Professor, an' let's
have a whack at them piles o' gold. If we don't tackle 'em we might just
as well never have come on this treasure-hunt at all. Some o' the stuff
in here's worth havin'--th' gold mugs an' boxes, an' that old gold
bow-gun that you're so busted about--but what does th' whole of it
amount to, anyway, when you come t' divide it up among four men an' a
jackass? I guess even th' jackass ud turn up his nose at it if he knowed
what a lot more there was that was t' be had just for grabbin' it an'
packin' it along. It's somethin', I s'pose, that we've pulled through
without losin' our hair; but we _have_ pulled through all right, an' now
we want t' make this business pay; an' unless we go for that gold this
business won't 'a' paid worth a cuss--an' instead o' comin' out on top
we'll be left th' very worst kind!"

As Young was delivered of this dismal remonstrance I handed him the
small object that I had extracted from the pitch-coated ball. "Before
you make up your mind that we are likely to be 'left,' as you term it,
suppose you look at this," I said.

He held out his hand carelessly; but as he saw what I had placed in it
his expression suddenly changed, and he burst forth excitedly: "Great
Scott! where did this come from? Why--why, Professor, it _looks_ like it
was a pearl; but if 't truly is one it's about th' bustin'est biggest
one that Godamighty ever made! Do you truly size it up for a pearl
yourself?"

"Most assuredly," I answered. "And it is