The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1894-07-19

put Denny. who had quicker percen.
lions. mad noted the furtive glance.
mo; I'd rather keep itm
Inc skipper talked of various mat.
Ce!s for some time, but at Length
came back to the subject Of tho
.rosin," and offered two dollars. then
tnree and at last five. But Dennv
still o~ostinately said, mo; I'd rather
keep It,"
The skipper staid with them for an
nour or two. but at last went off tn
ms vessel without further allusion IN
the ''rosin."
A'eck, much vexed, 'called Denny
q Tool for not accepting the offer made
oy the captain. Five dollars vas a
iarge SUN to these poor boys. But
Denny still resisted.
-! found it," he asserted, .'and I
Snali SET my own price. Skipper Nc
Leod cannot buy it for five dollars
ne wants 1T more than he cares Ia
leu US know. l saw that plainly
enough in his eyes,"
before night, too, Denny prudently
took the whale stone off the Ash
make and hid it away in a safe place.
Ihis was a wise act, for the next
morning the boys found everything
Io~psyturVy about the fakes and the
iahdlng Jetty, as if some one had
been searching there diligently.
The coaster still lay at anchor in the
bay.
This very suspicious circumstance.
coupled with tn SHIPPERS behavior.
caused Denny to think quit, serious
~ about his whale stone and it's DOS
SIDE value, until at length he be.
came SO earnest about it
that he resolved to find out
In some way what it was and what it
was worth. But the tlsherfolk who
lived near had no knowledge of such
matt rs.
50 during the following we k,
much against the advice of Aleck.
and the older members of the family,
Denny took an old potato sack, and
putting the gummy, yeIlowy mass
within, started to trudge with it on
his back all the way to st. Johns.
the capital of the island.
1t was a heavy load and q great I'M
dertaking for a lad Of his age and
limited experience. He was five or
six days making the journey; and
when at length he arrived in the
city he was quite at a loss how to
get the information he desired.
After walking the streets for some
time he made bold to enter a store
and ask the shop keeper to buy his
treasure. The man look at it, and
laughed at him for fetching such a
worthless loss as that to market.
AT another store a man examined
it curiOusly and offered 81 for it. He
was so dlsheartened that he was
much tempted to take the money and
start at once for home; but he re-
solved to try a little further. Ac-
cordingly he shouldered his tiresomc
load, and went out on the street
again.
CHANGING to glance back. he saw
that the S%tOrekeeper was following
very slowly after him, as if to see
where he was going. AS he turLed
awkwardly to go on, he jOstled against
a man in a unifOrm-the most Splen-
did garb he had ever scotland felt
greatly ashamed that his dirty gunny-
sack had rubbed against such a gor-
geOus red coat.
II didn't mean to. sir" he faltered,
deprecatingly.
The officer laughed good-naturedly
and asked him what he had got SO
heavy in his gunny- bag.
II don't know what it is, sir" re-
piled Denny, rather disconsolately.
II wish l could find some one wAo
could tell me-"
'.Let me look at it," said the Of
ficer.
Denny turned his treasure out of
the sack: and his new acquaintance
examined it, first with a smile, then
more attentively.
"If l am not mistaken, my lad"
he said st length, ''this is ambergris;
and if so, it is valuable. Where did
you get it,"
Denny told him the history Of the
whale stone.
$50 you are a stranger here?:" the
officer remarked.
"Yes, sir. I've walked all the wav
from BonaviSta Bay, and brought
this thing on my shoulders"
''Well, l may be in error" Conserved
the uniformed gentleman; ''but come
with me to some tradesmen whom l
know. They will probably tell us
whether l am right"
TO the mercantile house OF some
dealers of a better class they accord
ingly repaired, and after a critical
examination of the gummy mass, and
various tests-amOng Others, heat,
which completely vOlatilized a small
fragment OF it,-these Traders pro-