；　too；　Mr。　Starr！〃　returned　Simon　Ford。

〃That　we　shall　know　later。〃

〃And　I　can　answer　for　it！ Trust　to　the　instinct　of　an　old　miner！　It　has　never　deceived　me！〃

〃I　wish　to　believe　you；　Simon；〃　replied　the　engineer；　smiling。　〃As　far　as　I　can　judge　from　this　short　exploration；　we　possess　the　elements　of　a　working　which　will　last　for　centuries！〃

〃Centuries！〃　exclaimed　Simon　Ford；　〃I　believe　you；　sir！　A　thousand　years　and　more　will　pass　before　the　last　bit　of　coal　is　taken　out　of　our　new　mine！〃

〃Heaven　grant　it！〃　returned　Starr。 〃As　to　the　quality　of　the　coal　which　crops　out　of　these　walls？〃

〃Superb！ Mr。　Starr；　superb！〃　answered　Ford；　〃just　look　at　it　yourself！〃

And　so　saying；　with　his　pi