Posted by Peter Hyland on October 12, 2012 at 10:57:42 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Re: why bother with the ingot? posted by John Wilson on October 12, 2012 at 04:27:46:
As I see it, there wasn't really any moment of decision as regards the ingot. Dick was thinking about it, somewhat doubtfully, while the others were enthusiastic, for romantic reasons. Dick then made the right decision - to attempt a blowpipe assay first. He then discovered that Squashy Hat was doing the same, which made things urgent and gave Dick less time to think. To carry out a blowpipe assay, fluxes are needed and extensive precautions to avoid contamination. Dick did it in a rather crude way, but the result would have told him something had he been experienced enough to recognise it. Instead he made the decision that using a larger amount in a crucible might work - this was a faulty decision but a perfectly understandable one. And so it went on.
I think the answer to Ed Kiser's query is that Dick, being a scientist, wanted to be sure about the "gold dust" before presenting it to Capn Flint. Romantically inspired guesswork would not have been good enough for Dick - he wanted to talk to Capn Flint as 'one mineralogist to another'. It was Dick who wanted to consult Slater Bob, whether or not he was helping Squashy - science came first with Dick.
I find this whole story thoroughly believable. Furthermore I'd say that Chapter XXXIII 'AT Beckfoot', with Dick and Capn Flint in the study, is one of finest pieces of writing you could find - equal to Conan Doyle in my view. (I too recommend a reading of Adam's paper on the Chemistry of PP.)