78 History of Gutta-Percha Willie.

 

had soon piled a good heap against the wall out-
side. After they had had their tea, they set to
work again, and worked till the twilight grew dark
about them—by which time they had got the heap
down to what seemed the original level of the
floor. Still there were stones below, but what with
fatigue and darkness, they were now compelled to
stop, and Sandy went home, after promising to
come as early as he could in the morning and call
Willie, who was to leave the end of a string hang-
ing out of the staircase window, whose other end
should pass through the keyhole of his door and
be tied to his wrist.

He seemed to have hardly been in bed an hour,
when he woke with his arm at full length, and the
pulling going on as if it would pull him out of bed.
He tugged again in reply, and jumped out.

It was a lovely summer morning—the sun a few
yards up the sky; the grass glittering with dew ;
the birds singing as if they were singing their first
and would sing their last ; the whole air, even in
his little room, filled with a cool odour as of blessed
thoughts, and just warm enough to let him know
that the noontide would be hot. And there was
Sandy waiting in the street to help him dig for the
treasure! In a few minutes he had opened the
street door and admitted him. They went straight
to the scene of their labour.

Having got out a few more stones, they began