So then, the origin of coal mines,
in whatever part of the globe they have been discovered, is this:
the absorption through the terrestrial crust of the great forests
of the geological period; then, the mineralization of the vegetables
obtained in the course of time, under the influence of pressure and heat,
and under the action of carbonic acid.
Now, at the time when the events related in this story took place,
some of the most important mines of the Scottish coal beds had
been exhausted by too rapid working. In the region which extends
between Edinburgh and Glasgow, for a distance of ten or twelve miles,
lay the Aberfoyle colliery, of which the engineer, James Starr,
had so long
directed the works. For ten years these mines had been abandoned.
No new seams had been discovered, although the soundings had been
carried to a depth of fifteen hundred or even of two thousand feet,
and when James Starr had retired, it was with the full conviction
that even the smallest vein had been completely exhausted.
Under these circumstances, it was plain that the discovery
of a new seam of coal would be an important event.
Could Simon Ford's communication relate to a fact of this nature?
This question James Starr could not cease asking himself.
Was he called to make conquest of another corner of these rich
treasure fields? Fain would he hope it was so.
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