“Chances for us better? What in the world do you mean by that?” asked Bart, in surprise. “Sure an it’s plain enough. Ye see that treasure was a hundred feet an more under ground, an so it was clane beyond anything that we could do But these companies have been a workin, an a diggin, an a pumpin, an a borin holes all about, an we’ve got that much of the work done.” “Yes, but what good ’ll that do us? These holes weren’t any good to the companies. They couldn’t get to the money-hole, after all.” “Yis, but sure an may be they didn’t go to work the right way.” “O, I dare say they did all that could be done; and I don’t see how anybody could do any more, except they get a steam engine, the way they ’re going to do.” “O, sure an that’s all very well; but still, whin the holes ere already bored, the hardest of the work’s done; an a handy boy might be more use than a stame ingin, so he might. Sore an I’d like to see meself at the bottom of one of thim pits that’s nearest to the money-hole. I’d make a grab for the trisure, so I would.” “Pooh, nonsense! What could you do?” “Sure I’d make a dash for it. There’s nothin like tryin. Nothin venture, nothin have. I’ve got a notion that a body might make a bit of a tunnel in undor there, an git at the money-box. At any rate it’s worth tryin for, so it is.” “A tunnol!” exclaimed Bart “I never thought of that Do you really think that you could do it?” “Why not?” said Pat “Sure I’ve seen it done. All ye’ve got to do is to have on archway, an there it is. It’ll howld till doomsday. A tunnol is it? Sure I’d like to see meself down there with a bit of a pick, an I’d soon have the tunnel. An besides, it’s only blue clay I’d have to work in.” “So it is,” said Burt, in great excitement “He said blue clay. It’s only in the money-hole where the sand and gravel are.” “An blue clay,” said Pat, “to my mind, is as aisy cuttin as chalk or chaise. It’s like cuttin into butther, so it is. Why, there’s nothin in the wide wurrld to hender you an me from goin down there an tannelin through the blue day from the nearest pit straight into the money-hole.” “But what can we do about the water rushing in?” asked Bart. “Sure an we can only try,” said Pat “If we can’t kape the water out, well give up. But we may work along so as to kape clear of the water.” “But can we do that?” asked Bart. “Do it?” said Pat. “Sure an what’s to hender us?” “The other workmen couldn’t, you know,” said Bart. “I don’t know it,” said Pat, “an you don’t, either. How do we know that they ever tried? They dug the pits to try and stop the drain; that’s what they tried to do. But we’re a goin to try to tunnel into the money-hole; an there’s all the difference in the wurruld between the two, so there is. Besides, there’s no harrum in tryin. If we can’t do it we can come back, an no harrum done.” “Shall we tell the other follows?” said Bart, after a thoughtful pause.