A long journey that seemed as many miles instead of feet.

Then with a shout, Fairchild sprang forward, and went to his hands and knees.
It was there before him--all about him--the black, heavy masses of lead-silver ore, a great, heaping, five-ton pile of it where it had been thrown out by the tremendous force of the explosion.

It seemed that the whole great floor of the cavern was covered with it, and the workmen shouted with Fairchild as they seized bits of the precious black stuff and held it to the light for closer examination.
"Look!" The voice of one of them was high and excited.

"You can see the fine streaks of silver sticking out! It's high-grade and plenty of it!" But Fairchild paid little attention.

He was playing in the stuff, throwing it in the air and letting it fall to the floor of the cavern again, like a boy with a new sack of marbles, or a child with its building blocks.