’And yet the whole valley has been streamed by miners in olden times. Their mounds of refuse are traceable all the way to the source of the stream. No gold has been sought because none was expected to be found. The Bible has led me, by a course of inductive evidence, to the identical spot whence came the gold that overlaid the temple, and that made the shields with which Solomon adorned the walls of his palace.’ ’Whence that gold was got, more gold must be obtainable,’ put in Tramplara; ’especially with our modern appliances.’ ’It is most amazing,’ said Mr. Battishill. ’Bless me! I wish I were well enough to get out; but I am stricken, and can only creep about with the aid of a stick. I should like myself to examine the place where you say you found the gold.’ ’Surely you cannot doubt my word,’ said Mr. Flamank. ’I can give you the best possible proof of my sincerity. I am ready to embark my little savings to the last penny in the mines of Ophir, if you will consent to their being worked.’ ’I have no objection whatever, so long as I am not asked to risk any money in them myself.’ ’Look you here, Squire,’ said Tramplara; ’let us strike whilst the iron is hot. I am as anxious as the Reverend Flamank about Ophir. You can lose nothing, and may make a pot of money. I have brought with me a lease; read it. I will pay you a yearly rental of a hundred pounds, and you shall have the usual royalties on the gold raised, Then I will undertake to form a company to work the mines of Ophir. Not one penny can you lose by it. If you choose to take shares you may run some risk, not otherwise. If the mine proves a success, your fortune will be made, and so will mine, and those other lucky devils——’ ’Lucky what?’ inquired the startled pastor. ’Lucky devotees, I said. I said devotees distinctly. Those lucky devotees who took shares in Ophir. "Out of the hills ye shall dig brass," said the great lawgiver, and his prophecy will be fulfilled, for brass in colloquial English means money.’ Tramplara took a lease out of his pocket and opened it before Mr. Battishill. ’Read it—nothing can be fairer.’ ’Father,’ said Cicely, who had come in, ’please do nothing till Mr. Herring returns. Take his advice before signing any document.’ ’Nonsense, my dear; I can lose nothing. I shall not take a share, and I may gain thousands of pounds.’ ’If you will work the mine yourself, do so,’ said Tramplara: ’if not, let us work it. The religious public is already screwed up to a pitch of screaming excitement. The "Western Cornucopia"——’ ’"Cornucophir," corrected the pastor. ’Besides, I object to the term screaming excitement.’