The Portland daily press., 1897-11-13

and I'm dead sure it was the chest /
wasn't goin to say anything about it, but
bein as we are to be a band of brothers
| from this time on I'm willin to share the
secret. If anybody brings up the chest,
it's share and share alike"
That's the speech Philetus Bascomb
made, and though all of us knowed he was
the biggest liar from Barnegat to Jersey
City he said them words so seriously that
we could almost see that chest of gold lyin
on the bottom of the bay 1t was proposed
that a committee be appointed to go out
next day and look fur that gold, and the
moshun was duly carried, but as soon as
the meetin broke up no less'n five of us
started off down the bay on a hunt. We
couldn't help but run across each other
and know what was goin on, but every
one had a whoppin lie all ready at his
tongues end. We put in the hull night
scrapin the bottom of the bay and lyin to
each other but nuthin was found. A doz-
en- boats was out next day and the next,
and jest when all was ready to pitch into
Bascomb fur lyin we had another meetin
of the Brotherly Love club, and Solomon
| White got up and said:
'Bein this are a Brotherly Love club,
and bein as we are all brothers, 1 want to
say that when l was tongin fur oysters
tother day On the Two Mile bed hit that
chest of gold and heard the iron handles
rattle. was SO weak in the knees fur five
minits that had to sit down, and then a
squat cum up and driv me clear across the.
bay That chest is right thar, sure 'nuff,
and don't want only my sheer of the con-
tents. Sum men would sneak out and fish
it up and say nuthin, but ain t that sort.
/ f,,,r
make a cent.
That's the speech that Sol White made
He was SIGH an awful liar that nobody
could believe word he said, but next day
the hull gang Of us was out on that oyster
bed scrapin around fur that chest He
was thar with the rest the old varmint,
and as we scraped away he sung ''Rock Of
| Ages" and declared that the finger Of
Providence would pint out the treasure.
The finger didn't do 1T, howsumever. We
fooled around fur almost a week, and then
cum another meetin of the club. We'd got
purity nigh Disguised about the chest, but
our enthusiasm was aroused ag in when
Goliah Prescott got up with paper in his
hand and says:
Brethren of the Brotherly Love club,
thar hain't a mean HAIR in my head
gone down to Barnegat to live in style,
but honor wouldn't let me do it. l was
| up to the Marine hospital in New York
t'other day, and thar met a dyin sailor.
He was sailor as once beat my father out
OF $40, and when he heard my name he
wanted to do the squar thingsto git even.
He knowed all about this chest of gold, as
his grandfather helped to heave it over
board, and he writ down the bearin's Of
the spot. Them bearin's I now hand to
the president of the club, and it won't
| take comr-;ttee over half an hour to-
morrer to fl, up the chest. -
| That was ehe speech of Goliah Prescott
the old villain, and, though nobody in
Squan Creek would lend him chaw Of
Serbacker or throw stones at his dog, his
talk about that dyin sailor sorter made US
believe in him. The bearip' put the chest
D cables length northeast of the red buoy,
| and next day we had 10 boats out on the
search. We worked hard all day, from
sunrise to sunset but all we fshed up was
bits of logs and old cans When we got
through, we was all mad and tuckered
out, and no more huntin would have bin
done but fur what Sardinapulus Jordan
said at the next meetin of the club. He
was deacon in the church and not ac-
counted much of liar. Nobody hadn't
said nuthin bout the chest of gold when
he gifts up and begins:
"Let brotherly love and harmony ever
prevail. hain't no reptile. II was I
could now be countin them goldpieces in
that pirate chest When was down to
Atlantic City t'other day went to for
time teller, and she located the chest so
powerfuI clus that it won't take us ten
minits to heave it up. could go out thar
tonight and git it and sneak out Of Squan
Creek and 60 to Yurup, but that is not
Sardinapulus Jordan's way Of doin things
He's gone into this thing fur brotherly
love- and brotherly love it shall be to the
end. Well go out in the mornin and git
the gold and divide it"
We all kinder took stock in the story
and it wasn't skassly daylight before we
was sailin down the bay. Things turned
out Jest as before, and next night old Bill
Shattuck called special meetin of the
Brotherly Love club and said thar was
liars in the club who orter be bounced
That started the row, and purity soon ev-
erybody was tumblin around on the floor
! We upset the stove, broke the cheers
knocked out the winders, and all got hurt
more or less. The row had jest ended when
Stephen Paatt cum along. He was Twin
over ON the marsh, and he wasn't no liar.
What he had to say was that durin the
AFTERNOON two strange men had bin prowl-
in around the bay, and jest afore dark they
had fshed up an iron chest clus to the bell
buoy and then made off down the coast.
He seen that chest with his own eyes, and
he heard the rattle of goldpieces, and he
| had cum over to tell US that it was no use
lookin any more. You see. we had all bin