ned within itself, some modern devices for
separating out the gold.

Bag after bag of the decisive seven was poured in, ground to dust, and
passed through the separating riffles. Each of these riffles had a
self-cleaning device. The expert weighed the gravel before grinding,
weighed the scrapings of the riffles, and made careful notes on the
results of each batch. All was done in utter silence.

Jim, the true prospector, who had often seen wealth or poverty decided
by the twirl of a pan, stood immovable. If he were worried, he did not
show it. Jameine, on the other hand, was trembling and white.

At last, the "Wizard," note-book in hand, turned to give his decision.

"Judging from a direct crushing and separating process, without the
use of mercury," he said, "this gravel ought to give about
six-dollars'-worth of gold to the ton. With mercury, perhaps two or
three more dollars' worth can be extracted, and another couple of
dollars by cyaniding. The gravel is soft and can be hydraulicked,
during the summer. The gold is coarse and easy to separate. The quartz
pebbles will yield more than enough to be worth crushing, but just how
much is indeterminate.

"That's not rich! By itself, or in the interior, the deposit might not
be worth working. But with lignite right on the ground, to make steam
both for running the machinery and for steam thawing points, and with
a pumping plant using heated sea water for hydraulicking, there ought
to be a net profit of about three dollars a ton."

The news was received in silence, each voyager occupied with his own
viewpoint of the decision.

Clem was the first to speak.

"We've come a long way to get three dollars!" said he, with an attempt
at jocularity.

Anton grinned assent. Like Clem, he knew nothing about gold-mining.

Otto waited, well aware that the final result lay between Owens,
Juneau and Jim.

It was Jameine, with her book-knowledge of mining, who put the vital
question.

"How many tons do you estimate there may be in the deposit, Mr.
Juneau?"

"Impossible to say, exactly, especially when the island is masked
under snow. But the prospects have been carefully chosen. They suggest
about four hundred thousand tons in sight, and probably a good deal
more. The gravel is an early Tertiary deposit, lying between two beds
of carbonaceous slate, the lower of which is lignitic. Judging from
the strike of the beds, the gold-bearing gravel runs down under the
sea."

"Then