A REMARKABLE LETTER. 
17 
"But I am not going to tempt you to rush for the 
' diggings,' my boy. There s better game in the cover!'' 
"What in the world does the man mean!" exclaimed 
Mrs. Button. " He's as mysterious as a sphinx, and here's 
the supper all getting cold. Let's have the rest of the 
letter afterwards." 
Whereupon arose a chorus of " Oh, no, no ! Read on, 
read on! Never mind the supper yet — let's find out 
what he means by ' better game ' ! " 
Mr. Button accordingly found his place again, and, 
holding the letter so as to get a little better light upon it, 
resumed his reading. 
" I know you will be incredulous when I say there is 
more valuable treasure to be found in Alaska than gold 
— knowing, as you do, that there are no diamonds in the 
territory. Nevertheless, I am right. Among the many 
ores which exist here, in more or less abundance, is one 
which furnishes a strange metal, w^ell known in medicine 
and the arts. Its chemical symbol is Hg. Ah, you 
start now ! I see you have not forgotten those tiresome 
lectures at Harvard ; you know at last that I am speak- 
ing of Mercury, which is obtained almost entirely from 
the beautiful crimson ore known as ' Cinnabar.' " 
Mr. Button paused, and glanced about the eager circle 
of listeners. 
