Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

162 HISTORY OF THE BANKsacks of gold dust. Within a few days a melting furnace hadbeen built with fire brick from plans which the party hadbrought with them; the muffle furnace had been set up, andacids, fluxes, delicate Troemner balances and all the otherparaphernalia of an assay department had been got ready.A short delay took place before the charcoal was ready, but thestaff eventually "fired up" and attempted a preliminary melt offifty ounces. They sweated over this for forty-eight hours,only to find it a conglomerate mass that could neither bereturned to the customer nor assayed. Over and over againthey compared the furnace with the plans and found it tocorrespond.Most of the customers who had received preliminaryadvances on their gold dust were only waiting forcompletion of the assay and an adjustment of price to take adown-river boat and leave the country for a time. Thesemade frequent enquiries at the office every day, and meanwhilethe two assayers wrestled with their problem. Eventuallythe office staff proved recreant to their trust, or lackedresource and inspiration for inventing further reasons fordelay, and began suggesting that, while there were of course agreat many assays to handle and all were being dealt within strict turn, a call at the assay department might elicit moredefinite information as to when the particular customer'sassay was likely to be completed. The result was an incursionof enquirers at the assay plant that proved anything buthelpful. A look-out and a hot fire were kept to guard themiserable secret, and as a last resort, in the case of anyparticularly pertinacious individual, one of the officers (instrict turn) would develop a thirst from the really fierce heat ofthe furnace, and with an air of camaraderie which he was farfrom feeling, would invite the offensive visitor out for a drink.Then it was his duty to lose his guest, while the other mancarried on at the furnace. This situation, at the time, hadlittle humour in it for those immediately concerned; even atemporary failure in the assay department, ifpossibilities of adverse consequencestheknown, carriedto the bank's future