Mr. Dunlop had drawn close and now stood smiling broadly.

"That appears to be one on you, Reade," suggested the mine promoter.

"That's what I want to find out," returned Tom soberly; "whether
I'm a discoverer, or just a plain fool."

"What do you think about it?"

"Let's go and look at the ledge, and then I can tell you, sir,"
Reade answered, striding forward.

"Look out!" cautioned Joe Timmins. "Those hyenas will shoot.
They'll be sore over the trick you played on them, and they'll
be hiding waiting for a chance for a shot."

"Oh, bother the hyenas," Tom retorted, impatiently. "I'm out
for business today. Coming, Mr. Dunlop?" The mine operator showed
signs of hanging back.

Harry promptly joined his chum at what was left of the little ledge.
After a few moments Mr. Dunlop, seeing that no shots were fired,
stepped over there also, followed by his nephew. Jim Ferrers climbed
a tree, holding his rifle and keeping his eyes open for a shot,
while Timmins threw himself behind a rock, watching in the direction
that the four men had taken.

"This looks even better than I had expected," Tom explained, his
eyes glowing as he held up fragments of rock. "You see, the dynamite
charge was a low-power one. It just splintered the rock. There