experimentation, and meanwhile began to lay up stores of the ore in
anticipation of the time when the proper way to extract the metal
should be discovered.

But, alas! that time did not come. The fresh ore proved to be as
refractory as that which had been obtained from Dr. Syx. But in the
midst of the universal disappointment there came a new sensation.

One morning the newspapers glared with a despatch from Grand Teton
station announcing that the metal itself had been discovered by
prospectors on the eastern slope of the main peak.

"It outcrops in many places," ran the despatch, "and many small
nuggets have been picked out of crevices in the rocks."

The excitement produced by this news was even greater than when gold
was discovered at the south pole. Again a mad rush was made for the
Tetons. The heights around Jackson's Hole and the shores of Jackson's
and Jenny's lakes were quickly dotted with camps, and the military
force had to be doubled to keep off the curious, and occasionally
menacing, crowds which gathered in the vicinity and seemed bent on
unearthing the great secret locked behind the windowless walls of the
mill, where the column of black smoke and the roar of the engine
served as reminders of the incredible wealth which the sole possessor
of that secret was rolling up.

This time no mistake had been made. It was a fact that the metal, in
virgin purity, had been discovered scattered in various places on the
ledges of the Grand Teton. In a little while thousands had obtained
specimens with their own hands. The quantity was distressingly small,