It was made
of tin and was perforated with holes to emit the light; it seemed very
old. Underneath where it lay Thomas also discovered a man's waistcoat,
caked and sodden by the damp. In one pocket was a pipe, a rusted
jackknife and what had once been a piece of tobacco. In the other pocket
were sixteen large, old, red copper cents, one of which was a
"boobyhead" cent.
We never discovered to whom that treasure-trove belonged. It could
hardly have been Adwanko's, for one of the copper cents bore the date of
1830. Perhaps the owner of it had been searching for Adwanko's money;
but why he left his lantern and waistcoat behind him remains a mystery.
Our chief care was now for Rufus. We made a litter of poles and spruce
boughs, and as gently as we could carried the sufferer through the woods
down to the wagons, and slowly drove him home. Seven or eight weeks
passed before he was able to walk again, even with the aid of a crutch.
Our plan of exploring the Den had been wholly overshadowed. We even
forgot the luncheon baskets; and no one thought of ascertaining what the
blast had accomplished. When we went up to the cave some months later we
found that the blast had done very little; it had moved the rock
slightly, but not enough to open the passage; and so it remains to this
day.
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