The times., 1897-07-11
sQUAN CREEK FOLKS.

he was made president. There was need OF
brotherly love. 1t had got so THAT hardly
two men We're ON speaking terms with each
other, and no one O, The wimin folks
would lend her washbOard or natrons TO
another 10 save her life. Bill sorter fig
geTed that If he could git about twenty OF
the men together once u week with plenty
OF hard cider, pipes and u rcd hos stove
they'd git over bein' so Internally jealous
and low down. He expected To introduce
Checkers andfox-and-ge geese, and ike enough
DO ieetle debatin', but the thing sorter
run itself with the fust meetin' Philetus
Eascomb Was one of the crowd, and bein,
an old liar and allus entUyin' lies from
others, he started off with a warn:
Thar hain't hotnin, mean about me,
though / do say it myself Fur the last
two years I've had a book called the
Life OF Captain Kidd IN that Took he
tells how he sailed into Squan Bay and
throwed chest OF gold overheard hain't
looked fur that chest, cause I didn't want
to be mean, and / hain't said anythin'
about it, cause didn't want 70 git you all
worked Gp Today. howsuuever, / was
down the bay troIlin' fur blue fish, when
my hook cOtched on sunthin' which | do
declar' was that chest OF gold You kin
allus purity nigh tell by the feelin' what
you've got, and I'm dead sure it was the
chest Iwasn tgoin' TO say anythin' about
1t, hut beiE' as we ar to be band OF
brothers from this time on, I'm wiIIin' to
share the secret. II anybody brings up
the chest it's share and share alike
That's the speech Philetus Bascom b made,
and though all OF us knOwed he was the
zr 10 fvo,
he said them words so seriously that we
coald almost see that chest Of goIl Iyin'
on the bottom of The bay It was pro-
posed that committee he appointed TO 20
out next day and look fur that gold. and
the moshun was duly carried, but as soon
as the meetin' broke up no Iessn five OF
Us started off down the tay on hunt We
couldn't help but Iun across each other
and know what was goin on, but every
one had whoppin' lie all ready at his
tongues end. We put in tie hull night
scrapin the bottom. of the hay and Iyin'
TO each other, but nuthin was found A
dozen boats was out next day and the
next, and Jest when all was ready to
pitch into BascOmb fur Iyin we ha d another
meetin' Of the BrotheFly Love Club, and
Solomon White got up and said.
"Bein' this ar "a BrotherIy Love Club,
and bein' as we ar all brothers, I want TO
say that when l was tongin' fur oysters
tother DAY on the Two-Niile bed I hit that
chest OF gold and heard the iron handles
rattle / was so weak in the knees fur
five minutes that / had TO sit down, and
thea sq1all cum up and driv lie clear
across he bay. That chest is right thar,
sure 'RIff, and I don't want only nv
sheer OF the contents Sum men would
sneak out and fish it up and say r0thin',
bat ain'tthat sort I'm in fur brotherIy
love, even if we don't make a cent
That's the speech that Sol White made.
lie wassich an awful liar that nobody could
believe word he said, but next day the
huh gang Of Us was out on that oyster bed
scrapin' around fur that chest lie was
thar with the rest, the old varrnint. and as
we Serape1 away be sung Rock OF A ges,''
and declared that the finger OF Providence
would pint out the treasure. The finger
didn't do il, 10 owsumever. We fooled
around fur almost week, ard then cum
another meeun' ofthe club. We'd got purity
nigh diSgusted about the chest, but cur Ell
thusiasm was aroused aeTn when GcIlah
Frescott got up with a pa per in his hand
and sa Us.
brethren OF the Brotheriy Love Club.
thar hain't a mean ha'r IN nv head
could hev scoOped in thar chest Of gold
and gone dow q TO Barnesat to live in stvIe.
but honor wouldn't let me do It. I wasup
To the Marine Hospital in New York Ttother
day, and thar I met a dyfn' sailor. He
was sailor as once beat my father out O.
$40, and When he heard my name he want
ed 70 do the squar' thing 20 git even He
knowed all about this chest Of gold, as mis-
grandfather helped TO heave it overheard,
ard he writ down the bearin' s Of the spot.
Them bearins' l now hand 70 the presi-
deat Of the club, and it won't take a COM
mittee over half an hour JomOrrer TO fish
up the chest"
That was the speech Of Goliah Frescot5,
the old villain, and though nobody in
Squan Greek would lend him chav Of
UerhacEer or throw stones at his dog, his
talk about that dyin sailor sorter made
Us believe In him The bearin's pus the
chest cables length northeast Of the red
bJoy, and next day we had twelve boats
out On the search. We worked hard all
day from sunrise 70 sunset, but all we
fished up was bits or logs and old cans
When We got through we was al mad and
tuckcred ogt, and no more huntiu' would
hove bin done but fur what SarliinapuhIs
Jordan said ut the next ueetin' Of the
club. He was q deacon in the church and
not accounted much OF a liar Nobody
hadn't said nuthin bout the chest Of gold
when ne gifts up and begins.
Let brOtherly love ard harmony ever
prevail haint no reptile. II was
could now re ooUutin them gold pieces
in thai Bira to chest When 7 was ,yOv-D m
Atlantic City 'tother day I went To q
fortune teller, and size located the chest
50 powerful clus that il won'ttake US ten
minits 70 heave it up. could go ont
thar tonight and git it and sneak out D
squan Greek and so 20 Yurup, but that is
not Sradinapulus Jordans way % dom
Things. He's gone into this thing fur
brOtheTiy love, and brOfEeIlv love it shall
be to the end Vel 20 out in the nOTnin'
and cit the gold and divide it
We ali kinder took stock in the story,
and il wasn't skassIy daylight before we
was sailin' down the bay Things turned
out jest as before, and the next night old
Bah ShatuuCk called a special meetin' Of
the Brotherly Love Club, and said thar was
liars in the club who ought to be bounced.
That started the row, and purity soOn every
body was tumbhn' around on the floor.
We upset the stove, broke the. cheers,
Knocked out the windows, and all got hurt
more OrleSs- The row had Jest ended " hen
stephen Platt cum along He was Hvin'
over on the marsh. and he wasn't no liar.
What he had to say was that durtn the
arternoon two stra nge men had been pTOwHn'
around the bay. and Jest afore dark they
had fished m n iron chest cIuS Z, the hell