He pondered over all that the old miner had told him, and mentally weighed all the arguments which the latter had given in support of his belief.

He agreed with him in thinking that the continued emission of carburetted hydrogen certainly showed the existence of a new coal-seam.

If it had been merely a sort of pocket, full of gas, as it is sometimes found amongst the rock, it would soon have been empty, and the phenomenon have ceased.
But far from that.

According to Simon Ford, the fire-damp escaped incessantly, and from that fact the existence of an important vein might be considered certain.

Consequently, the riches of the Dochart pit were not entirely exhausted.