CHAPTER V
MYSTERY
Doris received the object from Sally and stood looking at it as it layin her hands. It was a small, square, very flat tin receptacle of somekind, rusted and moldy, and about six inches long and wide. Itsthickness was probably not more than a quarter of an inch.
"What in the world is it?" she questioned wonderingly.
"Open it and see!" answered Sally. Doris pried it open with somedifficulty. It contained only a scrap of paper which fitted exactly intoits space. The paper was brown with age and stained beyond belief. Buton its surface could be dimly discerned a strange and inexplicabledesign.
"Of _all_ things!" breathed Doris in an awestruck voice. "This certainlyis a mystery, Sally. What _do_ you make of it?"
"I don't make anything of it," Sally averred. "That's just the trouble.I can't imagine what it means. I've studied and studied over it allwinter, and it doesn't seem to mean a single thing."
It was indeed a curious thing, this scrap of stained, worn paper, hiddenfor who knew how many years in a tin box far underground. For the riddleon the paper was this:
"Well, I give it up!" declared Doris, after she had stared at itintently for several more silent moments. "It's the strangest puzzle Iever saw. But, do you know, Sally, I'd like to take it home and study itout at my leisure. I always was crazy about puzzles, and I'd just enjoyworking over this, even if I never made anything out of it. Do you thinkit would do any harm to remove it from here?"
"I don't suppose it would," Sally replied, "but somehow I don't like tochange anything here or take anything away even for a little while. Butyou can study it out all you wish, though, for I made a copy of it agood while ago, so's I could study it myself. Here it is." And Sallypulled from her pocket a duplicate of the strange design, made in herown handwriting.
At this point, Genevieve suddenly became restless and, clinging toSally's skirts, demanded to "go and play in the boat."
"She doesn't like to stay in here very long," explained Sally.
"Well, I don't wonder!" declared Doris. "It's dark and dreary and weird.It makes me feel kind of curious and creepy myself. But, oh! it's aglorious secret, Sally,--the strangest and most wonderful I ever heardof. Why, it's a regular _adventure_ to have found such a thing as this.But let's go out and sit in the boat and let Genevieve paddle. Then wecan talk it all over and puzzle this out."
Sally returned the tin box and its contents to the hiding-place underthe mattress. Then she blew out the candle, remarking as she did so thatshe'd brought a lot of candles and matches and always kept them there.In the pall of darkness that fell on them, she groped for the entrance,pushed it open and they all scrambled out into the daylight. After thatshe padlocked the opening and buried the key in the sand nearby andannounced herself ready to return to the boat.
During the remainder of that sunny morning they sat together in thestern of the boat, golden head and auburn one bent in consultation overthe strange combination of letters and figures, while Genevieve,barefooted, paddled in silent ecstasy in the shallow water rippling overthe bar.
"Sally," exclaimed Doris, at length, suddenly straightening and lookingher companion in the eyes, "I believe you have some idea about all thisthat you haven't told me yet! Several remarks you've dropped make methink so. Now, honestly, haven't you? What _do_ you believe is thesecret of this cave and this queer jumble of letters and things,anyway?"
Sally, thus faced, could no longer deny the truth. "Yes," sheacknowledged, "there _is_ something I've thought of, and the more Ithink of it, the surer I am. And something that's happened since I knewyou, has made me even surer yet." She paused, and Doris, wild withimpatience, demanded, "Well?"
"_It's pirates!_" announced Sally, slowly and distinctly.
"_What?_" cried Doris, jumping to her feet. "Impossible! There's no suchthing, nowadays."
"I didn't say 'nowadays,'" remarked Sally, calmly. "I think it _was_pirates, then, if that suits you better."
Doris sank down in her seat again in amazed silence. "A pirate cave!"she breathed at last. "I do believe you're right, Sally. What else_could_ it be? But where's the treasure, then? Pirates always had somearound, didn't they? And that cave would be the best kind of a place tokeep it."
"That's what this tells," answered Sally, pointing to the scrap ofpaper. "I believe it's buried somewhere, and this is the secret planthat tells where it is. If we could only puzzle it out, we'd find thetreasure."
A great light suddenly dawned on Doris. "_Now_ I know," she cried, "whyyou were so crazy over 'Treasure Island.' It was all about pirates, andthere was a secret map in it. You thought it might help you to puzzleout this. Wasn't that it?"
"Yes," said Sally, "that was it, of course. I was wondering if you'dguess it. I've got the book under the bow seat of the boat now. Let'scompare the things." She lifted the seat, found the book, which fellopen of its own accord, Doris noticed, at the well-known chart of thatwell-loved book. They laid their own riddle beside it.
"But this is entirely different," declared Doris. "That one of 'TreasureIsland' is a map or chart, with the hills and trees and everythingwritten plainly on it. This is nothing but a jumble of letters andfigures in little squares, and doesn't make the slightest sense, nomatter how you turn or twist it."
"I don't care," insisted Sally. "I suppose all secret charts aren'talike. I believe if we only knew how to work this one, it wouldcertainly direct us straight to the place where that treasure isburied."
So positive was she, that Doris could not help but be impressed. "Butpirates lived a long time ago," she objected, "and I don't believe therewere ever any pirates around this place, anyway. I thought they weremostly down around Cuba and the southern parts of this country."
"Don't you believe it!" cried Sally. "I've heard lots of the oldfishermen about here tell how there used to be pirates right along thiscoast, and how they used to come in these little rivers once in a whileand bury their stuff and then go out for more. Why there was one famousone they call 'Captain Kidd,' and they say he buried things all abouthere, but mostly on the ocean beach. My father says there used to be anold man (he's dead now) right in our village, and he was just sure hecould find some buried treasure, and he was always digging around on thebeach and in the woods near the ocean. Folks thought he was just kind ofcrazy. But once he really did find something, way down deep, that lookedlike it might have been the bones of a skeleton, and a few queer coinsand things all mixed up with them. And then every one went wild andbegan digging for dear life, too, for a while, but they never foundanything more, so gradually they left off and forgot it."
Doris was visibly stirred by this curious story. After all, why shouldit not be so? Why, perhaps could not _they_ be on the right track of theburied treasure of pirate legend? The more she thought it over, the morepossible it became. And the fascination of such a possibility held herspellbound.
"Yes," she agreed, "I do believe you're right, Sally. And now that Ilook it over, these letters and numbers might easily be the key to itall, if we can only work it out. Oh, I never heard of anything sowonderful happening to two girls like ourselves before! Thank you, amillion times, Sally, for sharing this perfectly marvelous secret withme."
"I do believe I'm enjoying it a great deal better myself, now that I'vetold you," answered Sally. "I didn't think it could be so before I did.And if we ever discover what it all means--"
"Why, precious!" interrupted Doris, turning to Genevieve, who allunnoticed had come to lean disconsolately against the side of the boat,her thumb tucked pathetically in her mouth, her eyes half tearful."What's the matter?"
"I'm hung'y and s'eepy!" moaned Genevieve. With a guilty start, Dorisgazed at her wrist watch. It was nearly one o'clock.
"Merciful goodness! Mother will be frantic!" she exclaimed. "It'slunch-time now, and we're way up here. And just see the way I look!" Shewas indeed a scratched, grimy and tattered object. "Whatever will Itell her?" They scrambled to their oars and were out in the river beforeSally ans
wered this question.
"Can't you tell her you were exploring up on Slipper Point?"
"Yes," agreed Doris. "That is the real truth. And she never minds if Iget mussed and dirty, as long as I've enjoyed myself in some way that'sall right. But I hope I haven't worried her by being so late."
They rowed on in mad, breathless haste, passed the wagon-bridge, andcame at last in sight of the hotel. But as they beached the boat, andDoris scrambled out, she said in parting:
"I've been thinking, all the way down, about that secret map, orwhatever it is, and I have a new idea about it. I'll tell you tomorrowmorning. This afternoon I've promised to go for a drive with Mother."