Oh, the beautiful green! the precursor of
the golden-red hue that tells of the end attained! Ah! now the
golden-red is coming--slowly--slowly! It deepens, it shines, it is
dazzling! Ah, I have it!" So saying, he caught up his crucible in
a chemist's tongs, and bore it slowly toward the table on which
stood a brass vessel.
"Now, incredulous doctor!" he cried, "come and be convinced," and
immediately began carefully pouring the contents of the crucible
into the brass vessel. When the crucible was quite empty he turned
it up and called me again. "Come, doctor, come and be convinced.
See for yourself."
"See first if there is any gold in your crucible," I answered,
without moving.
He laughed, shook his head derisively, and looked into the
crucible. In a moment he grew pale as death.
"Nothing!" he cried. "Oh, a jest, a jest! There must be gold
somewhere. Marion!"
"The gold is here, father," said Marion, drawing the ingot from her
pocket; "it is all we ever had."
"Ah!" shrieked the poor old man, as he let the empty crucible fall,
and staggered toward the ingot which Marion held out to him.
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