| 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 |
| 1 | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
|
and looking into the trunk, said:
'No wonder we couldn't move it--why it's full to the brim of old bits of
brass!'
Putting his feet, now, against the wall so as to get a good purchase,
and pushing with all his force, while his companions pulled with an
theirs, the trunk, with much difficulty, was slid out from under the
bed, and its contents examined. The supposed brass with which it was
filled was all in small, smooth pieces, varying from the size of a pea
to that of a dollar; but the pieces were irregular in shape, although
more or less flat-looking, upon the whole, 'very much as lead looks when
thrown upon the ground in a molten state, and there suffered to grow
cool.' Now, not one of these officers for a moment suspected this metal
to be any thing but brass. The idea of its being gold never entered
their brains, of course; how could such a wild fancy have entered it?
And their astonishment may be well conceived, when the next day it
became known, all over Bremen, that the 'lot of brass' which they
had carted so contemptuously to the police office, without putting
themselves to the trouble of pocketing the smallest scrap, was not only
gold--real gold--but gold far finer than any employed in coinage-gold,
in fact, absolutely pure, virgin, without the slightest appreciable
alloy.
9
4
Page
Quick Jump
|