Page:Tales in Political Economy by Millicent Garrett Fawcett.djvu/71

 shares, and eight of whom were to have a share and a half; the whole sum was, therefore, divided into thirty equal lots of 248l. 6s. 8d. each. The boy who first discovered the chest took two of these shares, or 496l. 13s. 4d. The eight boys who worked with him on the second day, each took a share and a half, or 372l. 10s., and the sixteen who remained took one share each, of 248l. 6s. 8d.

When they returned to their companions, the rejoicing at the discovery that had been made was universal. The want of money for carrying on exchanges had long been felt, and the coin was therefore much more valued than it would have been if it had been found when the trade of the islanders with each other was so limited that it could be conducted by barter without inconvenience. It may perhaps be thought that the discovery of the gold and silver was of no benefit to the islanders in general, but only to those among them who were so fortunate as to be its actual finders. It soon, however, became evident that those who had found the money profited by their discovery exactly in propor-