which he had kept accessible.

"This is very strange," said Hanky, who was beginning to be afraid of my
father when he learned that he sometimes killed people.

Here the Professors talked hurriedly to one another in a tongue which my
father could not understand, but which he felt sure was the hypothetical
language of which he has spoken in his book.

Presently Hanky said to my father quite civilly, "And what, my good man,
do you propose to do with all these things? I should tell you at once
that what you take to be gold is nothing of the kind; it is a base metal,
hardly, if at all, worth more than copper."

"I have had enough of them; to-morrow morning I shall take them with me
to the Blue Pool, and drop them into it."

"It is a pity you should do that," said Hanky musingly: "the things are
interesting as curiosities, and--and--and--what will you take for them?"

"I could not do it, sir," answered my father. "I would not do it, no,
not for--" and he named a sum equivalent to about five pounds of our
money. For he wanted Erewhonian money, and thought it worth his while to
sacrifice his ten pounds' worth of nuggets in order to get a supply of
current coin.

Hanky tried to beat him down, assuring him that no curiosity dealer would
give half as much, and my father so far yielded as to take 4 pounds, 10s.
in silver, which, as I have already explained, would not be worth more
than half a sovereign in gold. At this figure a bargain was struck, and