But energy is not sufficient for some things.  Three men were attempting the work of a hundred.  We must have more hands.

This time the dozens of small boys stringing cash in the outer courtyards were called in and told to fall to; and forming lines which oddly resembled those made by firemen, they were soon bundling out the empty sacks to the open at the rate of thousands a minute.  Faster and faster they worked, as if the same frenzy had spread to them; wider and wider moved the rings of floating dust, until they hung high above everything and made the day seem dull and threatening.  Then suddenly the ku-ping inside gave a shout.  They had got low enough for the time being—­they wanted to be able to see.  The squads of sweating soldiers and the dozens of grimy little boys desisted and stood open-eyed to see what was to follow.  They were beginning to appreciate the significance of it all.

We waited patiently and watched the great clouds melt away and settle on our clothes and silt into our eyes; and then finally, when it was clearer, a man inside struck a match, lit a candle and handed it down into a great hole which had been dug through the very centre of these decade-old bullion coverings.  How deep the hole was I could not see, but the three men slipped in and were entirely lost to our view.

They seemed a long time down there without giving a single sign or making any noise, and we all became a little nervous.  Perhaps the thing was really miscarrying.  Soon I felt certain that it had miscarried, and bitterly regretted taking the matter in hand.  Then one man came up gruntingly and began cursing and swearing as soon as he saw us.  He did that because he was afraid.  I feared the worst.  On his shoulders there was one single great lump of silver and nothing else, and as he clambered out to where we stood he tilted it with a dull thud to the ground, and said sullenly that that was the only thing left, and that others had been there before us.  He repeated this several times, so that there should be no mistake; there was only this enormous piece of silver and nothing else.  The smile’s left everybody’s face.  Never have I seen such a sudden change.  However, to me it was kismet....

In some trepidation we at length approached L——­ and told him what had been said, and then there was another storm.  He said that it was impossible—­that there must be some mistake—­that the men had said that the bullion was there, and there it must be.  As he spoke his anger rose again, and coming up and kicking the massive silver ingot, he asked again and again in a few words of French, which I believe he had learned especially for the occasion, “Mais ou est l’or? mais ou est l’or?” It was almost pitiful to hear him repeat these words again and again like a child.  He believed we were cheating him....