The Flaming Mountain

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Excerpt: ...Brant said softly. "I'm beginning to see." Rick wasn't. "But what is it?" he asked. "The most valuable kind of ground in the world, " Riddle said. "So far as anyone knew up to now, such pipes have occurred only in Africa. The one I saw was at Kimberley. The name came from there. This is kimberlite." Rick knew of only one kind of valuable that was associated with Kimberley, and the thought was so staggering that he was almost afraid to say it out loud. "You mean that this is the stuff diamonds are found in?" "Exactly, " Riddle said. Rick fished the handful of crystals from his pocket and stared at them unbelievingly. "Then these, " he said hoarsely, "must be diamonds!" CHAPTER XI Earthquake! "Everything adds up, " Rick Brant said grimly. "And it isn't a pretty picture." Hartson Brant agreed. "It certainly seems to add up, Rick. I suggest you put those crystals in a safe place until we can find out for certain whether or not there is real value there." "Is there any doubt?" Scotty asked. David Riddle answered, "Yes, Scotty. There are many grades of diamonds. Until an expert takes a look at those Rick collected, we won't be sure that they're of gem quality. He may have industrial grade diamonds, of the type called bort." "Connel may already have had an expert take a look, " Weiss pointed out. Rick examined the handful of crystals. It was hard to believe he had simply picked up diamonds like so many pebbles. What's more, he couldn't be sure whether he held a king's ransom in his hand or a few dollars' worth of industrial abrasives. "Why didn't Connel clean out all diamonds in the area?" he demanded. "How could he?" Hartson Brant retorted. "When has he had time for a real effort? I suspect he has picked up quite a few, but you found those just by kicking around, which would indicate he hasn't sifted that loose ground very thoroughly." David Riddle frowned. "It's odd that Rick found so many. Perhaps he was lucky enough to kick open a pocket that Connel...