Struck against iron pyrites, a larger,
fatter, hotter spark could be obtained than with any other natural
combination.
It was Dulnop's luck to see the outcropping. He found the mineral
exposed to plain view, a few feet above the bottom of the ravine the
two were ascending. With a shout of triumph he leaped upon the rock.
"Here, Corrus!" he yelled, dancing like mad. "Here is the gift of
the gods!"
The older man didn't attempt to hide his delight. He grabbed his
companion and hugged him until his ribs began to crack. Then, with a
single blow from his huge club, the herdsman knocked the specimen
clear of the slate in which it was set. Such was their excitement,
neither dreamed of marking the place in any way.
First satisfying themselves that the pyrites really could produce
"stars" from the flint, the two hurried down-stream, in search of
the right kind of wood. In half an hour Corrus came across a dead,
worm-eaten tree, from which he nonchalantly broke off a limb as big
as his leg.
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