They were somewhat disappointed at this, and scraped the other coins,
but found them all copper.
“Pooh!” said Arthur; “what’s the odds? To an archaeologist isn’t a
copper coin as precious as a gold one? Of course it is. Hallo, Phil!
Haven’t you got that pot cleaned out yet? I’ve got an idea. I’ll put
these sous in the pot, and then we can say that we’ve found a pot of
money. We’ll be generous, too--we’ll give it all to the Museum.” Phil’s
pot by this time was empty, and Arthur laughingly threw the sous into
it. After this they began their search again, and enlarged the hole
in hopes of finding more around the sides. And in this they were
successful, for they found, near, a dozen more copper coins, which made
a very respectable appearance in the pot, and in addition to these,
about a dozen bits of iron--nails, spikes, and bolts.
“Hallo, boys! look here!” cried Bart, suddenly. He held in his hand an
old, discolored bone. “Talking about relics,” said he, “here’s a relic
of the original owner. The question is though, is it a human bone?”
“Pooh!” said Arthur; “it’s an ox bone, or a horse.”
“Not a bit of it,” said Bart. “I’m determined that it shall be Benedict
Bellefontaine.”
“It’s a horse’s bone,” said Phil.
“No,” said Bart; “I’ll keep it carefully, and let the doctor have it. It
will be the most precious article in the Museum.”
It was now growing too dark to work any longer. The sun had set, and
they were satisfied with the result of their labors. So they gathered
together their treasures, and set out for the Academy.
These treasures seemed to them to be by no means despicable.