When we got within half a mile he broke into the "double," and never
pulled up until he reached the round white circle upon the cliff. Poor
old Tom! when I came up, his mood had changed, and he was standing
with his hands in his pockets, gazing vacantly before him with a rueful
countenance.

"Look!" he said, "look!" and he pointed at the cliff. Not a sign of
anything in the least resembling a diamond there. The circle included
nothing but a flat slate-coloured stone, with one large hole, where we
had extracted the rock-salt, and one or two smaller depressions. No sign
of the gem.

"I've been over every inch of it," said poor Tom. "It's not there. Some
one has been here and noticed the chalk, and taken it. Come home, Jack;
I feel sick and tired. Oh, had any man ever luck like mine!"

I turned to go, but took one last look at the cliff first. Tom was
already ten paces off.

"Hollo!" I cried, "don't you see any change in that circle since
yesterday?"

"What d' ye mean?" said Tom.

"Don't you miss a thing that was there before?"

"The rock-salt?" said Tom.

"No; but the little round knob that we used for a fulcrum. I suppose we