assist me, under any circumstances, in a
personal contest with his master. I made no doubt that the latter had been
infected with some of the innumerable Southern superstitions about money
buried, and that his fantasy had received confirmation by the finding of
the _scarabaeus_, or, perhaps, by Jupiter's obstinacy in maintaining it to
be "a bug of real gold." A mind disposed to lunacy would readily be led
away by such suggestions--especially if chiming in with favorite
preconceived ideas--and then I called to mind the poor fellow's speech
about the beetle's being "the index of his fortune." Upon the whole, I was
sadly vexed and puzzled, but at length, I concluded to make a virtue of
necessity--to dig with a good will, and thus the sooner to convince the
visionary, by ocular demonstration, of the fallacy of the opinions he
entertained.

The lanterns having been lit, we all fell to work with a zeal worthy a
more rational cause; and, as the glare fell upon our persons and
implements, I could not help thinking how picturesque a group we
composed, and how strange and suspicious our labors must have appeared
to any interloper who, by chance, might have stumbled upon our
whereabouts.

We dug very steadily for two hours. Little was said; and our chief
embarrassment lay in the yelpings of the dog, who took exceeding
interest in our proceedings. He at length became so obstreperous that we
grew fearful of his giving alarm to some stragglers in the vicinity; or,
rather, this was the apprehension of Legrand; for myself, I should have
rejoiced at any interruption which might have enabled me to get the
wanderer home. The noise was at length very effectually silenced by
Jupiter, who, getting out of the hole with a dogged air of deliberation,
tied the brute's mouth up with one of his suspenders, and then returned,
with a grave chuckle, to his task.

When the time mentioned had expired, we had reached a depth of five
feet, and yet no signs of any treasure became manifest. A general pause
ensued, and I began to hope that the farce was at an end. Legrand,
however, although evidently much disconcerted, wiped his brow
thoughtfully and recommenced. We had excavated the entire circle of four
feet diameter, and now we slightly enlarged the limit, and went to the
further depth of two feet. Still nothing appeared. The gold-seeker, whom
I sincerely pitied, at length clambered from the pit, with the bitterest
disappointment imprinted upon every