CHAPTER XXI.
THE TREASURE.
The sheet of metal, which was about eight feet square and half an inchin thickness, covered considerable more space than had the base of thecoral-head, consequently it became necessary to work some time longerwith the shovel before it could be raised.
After the edges were exposed, and the sand had been thrown back toprevent any chance of its falling in and burying whatever might bebeneath when the metal was removed, Bob said in a tone of caution,curbing his own excitement as much as possible:
"Keep cool, lads, for too great speed jes' now may make no end of extrawork. Joe, you take hold of this 'ere plate with me, while Jim stands bywith the shovel in case we start the sand a runnin'. Don't let yourhopes climb so high that you'll be disappointed if we fail to findanything here, my hearties, for there's a good many chances somebody hasbeen at this place ahead of us, an' we'll have all our labor fornothin'. Calm down same's I am, an' then there won't be any harm done ifwe find nothin' but an empty hole."
Bob's advice was good, but he did not follow it himself. Now they wereso near the end of the task, he was actually trembling with suppressedexcitement, and it was as if he had made this long speech for thepurpose of quieting his own nerves.
The boys stood around the excavation awaiting impatiently the momentwhen the secret was to be revealed; and although Jim held the shovelready to check any flow of sand, it was apparent that he paid more heedto what might be under the metal plate than the duty assigned him.
To raise the heavy covering was more difficult than the old sailor atfirst supposed. Four times did he and Joe make the attemptunsuccessfully, and then, as every muscle was strained to the utmost, itcanted on edge, while five pairs of eyes peered eagerly into what wasnaturally supposed to be an excavation.
If the anxious ones had expected an immediate view of treasure they weredisappointed. A mass of what appeared to be canvas, but so discoloredand decayed as to require a close scrutiny before such fact could bedetermined, was all that could be seen, and this in itself cheered Bobwonderfully.
"Whatever was buried is still here, for if anybody had got at it theywouldn't a' taken the trouble to cover the hole over again. All handsturn to an' lift this chunk of metal out of the way."
"An' don't be two or three hours about it either," Jim criedimpatiently, as he grasped one side of the huge plate, "or we'll neverfind out what's under the canvas."
The additional excitement lent strength to every arm, and as if it hadbeen nothing more than a piece of wood the heavy mass was rolled endover end until it lay on the sand a dozen feet from the excavation.
When this had been done there was no longer any delay in continuing theinvestigation. With one accord every member of the party seized at thesame moment the discolored covering which hid from view the secret ofthe key. The fabric crumbled in their hands like tinder, and instead oflifting it off readily each pulled up a small quantity of molderingfiber.
"Take the shovel!" Bob cried excitedly to Joe. "This stuff hasn't gotmuch more substance than dust, an' it must be scraped away carefully."
"It's a bad lookout for what may be beneath," Joe replied grimly, as heobeyed the order while the boys and Bob worked with their hands until ablack, stiff surface was exposed.
"This is tarred canvas, an' by gettin' hold of the edges we can lift itout, I reckon," the old sailor said; and as the others followed hisexample the second covering, together with the remaining fragments ofthe first, was raised without difficulty, exposing to view a sight wellcalculated to increase the already feverish excitement.
An excavation about five feet square, dug down to the bed-rock and linedon the sides with tarred canvas, was revealed, while in it, packed witha view to economy of space, were a large number of small, black bagsfull to plumpness of something which bulged here and there like metal.
Bob drew his sheath-knife in a twinkling, and instead of cutting themouth of a bag which he lifted from its long resting-place, slit it downthe side, allowing the contents to drop in a dull yellow shower on thesand.
"Talk about wantin' salvage on the brig!" he cried; "why, here's moremoney than she and her cargo would fetch in any port! It's gold, lads!Here's a Spanish doubloon; this is an English sovereign; an' there's aDutch piece. It would puzzle a lawyer to count it off-hand; but weoughter be satisfied at knowin' that every coin is good, lawful money,no matter how them as put their fists to the dockerment may a' got it!"
Bob was almost beside himself with joy, and the others were not one whitmore calm. Each had torn or cut open a bag, and was handling thecontents as if every touch of the precious metal gave pleasure. That thehoard was valuable every member of the party knew beyond a doubt, eventhough no one could compute the actual amount. There were coins ofalmost every nation, some of gold, others of silver, all poured into thetarred canvas bags without any attempt at classification, but simplythat they might be in a portable shape.
The bag Harry opened contained, in addition to the money, several rings;but in the excitement of the moment there was no thought of examiningthem critically. It was sufficient that they were in possession of alarge amount of treasure; the value of the find was a secondaryconsideration just then.
The old sailor finally aroused himself from what can be called by noother name than a delirium of joy, and with his awakening to the realitycame that which the accumulation of wealth always brings--fear lest itshould be lost as suddenly as it was gained.
"We mustn't sit here crowin' like idiots!" he cried sharply as he beganto gather up the gold-pieces which had fallen on the ground. "There's notellin' how soon somebody may come, an' if we want to hold what we'vegot it's time things around here were put into shape. These bags must becarried on board the Sea Bird, an' the hole filled in ag'in, so's no onewill know we've been diggin'!"
This suggestion started the remainder of the party into activity, and onthe instant all were ready to set about the necessary work.
It was now high noon. The rays of the sun beat down upon the sand with aheat that under any other circumstances would have seemed overpowering;but the treasure-finders heeded it not. The foliage shut out everybreath of air, and the shadows cast by the trees were but so manystifling spots free only from the glare of the sand; yet no onehesitated to begin the laborious task, because the burdens were golden.Over all had come the fear that this new-found treasure might be wrestedfrom them, and hunger or thirst, fatigue or exhaustion were alikeforgotten.
"A couple of bags are as much as Joe an' me can carry, while one will bea load for you boys; but in three turns we'll have them all at the boat;so let's get under way at once," Bob said as he set the example, whilethe others obeyed silently.
No one speculated as to why so much gold had been buried in thatparticular spot, or how it happened that those who concealed thetreasure had abandoned the rich hoard. The wonderful fact of its havingcome into their possession was the only thought which could beentertained.
The burdens, as allotted by Bob, were reasonably heavy, and despite theexcitement which lent fictitious strength, the journey to the boatoccupied considerably more than half an hour.
Joe and Bob scanned the horizon in every direction before depositing thefirst load of treasure to return for the second, but as no sail was insight on the dazzling blue waters it was believed safe to leave theprecious bags on the beach during the hour they would necessarily beabsent.
On the third trip neither Harry nor Walter carried a load. There wereoriginally but nineteen packages in the excavation, as was shown bycareful count, and since the two boys showed more signs of wearinessthan the others, Bob insisted that both travel empty-handed.
When the tired party arrived at the beach with the last of the gold theboat was launched, the bags distributed evenly fore and aft, and withJoe and Bob rowing, the return to the steamer was begun.
The movement of the yawl caused a light breeze which greatly refreshedthe heated treasure-seekers, and with the relief thus afforded camespeculation as
to why so much wealth had been concealed on the key.
"I reckon them as signed that 'ere dockerment were reg'lar pirates," Bobsaid in reply to a question from Harry. "It ain't likely honest folkswould 'a' put the stuff there when it could easier have been carriedsomewhere else."
"But why did they leave it?" Harry persisted. "From the looks of the hutit's been a good many years since anybody lived there, and of course thegold was buried when that was built."
"Most likely the whole crowd are dead--killed in a fight--or we wouldn't'a' hit on sich a find. Howsomever, it don't make much difference to us,seein' that we've got the pile. Look lively when we reach the steamer,lads, an' put the bags aboard in a hurry, for there's another tripashore to be made before sunset."
"What for?" Jim asked in surprise.
"We must cover that hole up as it was when we found it, so's in caseanybody stumbles over the place before the Sea Bird is ready to leavethere won't be any suspicion as to what has been taken out. Joe an' mewill 'tend to that part of it while you boys cook dinner."
By this time the yawl was close alongside the steamer. Jim was in thebow, and as the rowers held her steady he leaped aboard with thepainter.
In accordance with Bob's orders Harry and Walter clambered over thesteamer's rail, and stood ready to take the bags as they were passed up.
"Stow 'em in the hold behind the water-casks," the old sailor said whenthe last valuable package was on board, "an' see to that part of itbefore doin' anything else."
Then he and Joe rowed slowly back to the shore while the boys carriedthe treasure below.
It was difficult for them to realize, even though they had such goodproof, that all this weight was made up of gold coin; and Jim, who wasmore boisterous than any other member of that highly excited crew,insisted on opening every bag before stowing it away.
There was nothing to interfere with such diversion, for Bob and Joewould necessarily be absent a long while, and each package was dulyinspected.
Harry wanted to count the money in one bag in order to get some idea ofthe total amount; but he was forced to abandon the task after a fewmoments' work. There were apparently coins of every nation, the majorityof which the boys could only make a rough guess as to the value; and Jimsaid, when Harry announced his inability to arrive at even anapproximate computation:
"Never mind, fellers; we can weigh the whole lot when we get into port,an' then figger up somewhere near what it's worth. I'd jes' like tospread these all over the deck, where we could see 'em every minute; butI s'pose Bob would kick."
"He'd have good reason," Harry said laughingly. "Besides bein' in theway, it wouldn't be safe to have so much gold around, for there's noknowing how soon some other craft may come into the cove."
"All the same I'd like to see it on deck," Jim replied; and then, as ifit required a mighty effort to put this desire far from him, he bustledto and fro in the most energetic fashion.
After this work had been done, the amateur cook and his assistants wentinto the galley, where all the stores were overhauled in order that amost elaborate meal might be prepared; for despite the heat and hisfatigue, Jim was determined to make of the dinner a regular Thanksgivingfeast, to celebrate their rare good fortune.