Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1898-02-10

| IL ndo ObIu waning HNiNs NPC'A
the summit; our way lay little down
hill, for. as l have said, the plateau
tilted toward the west. The pines,
great and small, grew wide apart; and
even between the clumps of nutmeg
and azat-A> wide open spaces baked in
the hot sunshine. Striking, as we did.
pretty near northwest across the
island, we drew. on the one hand, ever
nearer under the shoulders of the Spy
glass, and on the other. looked ever
wider over that western bay where /
had once tossed and trembled in the
coracle.
The first of the tall trees was reached.
and by the bearing. proved the wrong
one. So with the second. The third rose
nearly 200 feet into the air above a
clump of underwood; giant of veg
etable. with a red column as big as a
cottage, and wide shadow around in
which a company could have man
euvered. 1t was conspicuous far to sea
both on the east and west. and might
have been entered as a sailing mark
upon the chart.
But it was not it's size that now i'm
pressed my companions; it was the
knowledge that 100000 in gold lay
somewhere buried below its spread
ing shadow. The thought of the
money, as they drew nearer, swallowed
up their previous terrors. Their eyes
burned in their heads; their feet grew
speedier and lighter; their whole soul
was bound up in that fortune, that
whole lifetime of extravaganza and
pleasure, that lay waiting there for
each of them.
Silver hobbled, grunting, on his
crutch, his nostrils stood out and quiy-
ered he cursed like a mailman when
the flies settled on his hot and shiny
countenance; he plucked furiously at
the line that held me TO him, and, from
time TO time, turned his eyes upon me
with deadly look. Certainly he took
no pains to hide his thoughts; and GER
tainly / read them like print. In the
immediate nearness Of the gold, all
else had been forgotten; his promise
and the doctors warning were both
things of the past; and / could not
doubt that he hoped TO seize upon the
treasure, find and board the His
PAMELA" under cover of night, cut every
honest throat about that island, and sail
away as he had at first intended. laden
with crimes and riches.
Shaken as | was with these alarms.
it was hard for me TO keep up with the
rapid pace of the treasure hunters.
Now and again l tumbled; and it was
then that Silver plucked so roughly al
the rope and launched at me his muir
derous glances. Dick. who had dropped
behind us, and now brought up the
rear, was babbling TO himself both
prayers and curses. as his fever kept
rising. This also added TO my wretch
edness. and. to crown all, was haunted
by the thought OF the tragedy that had
once been acted on that plateau. when
that ungodly buccaneer with the blue
face-he who had died at Savannah,
singing and shouting for drink-had
there. with his own hand. cut down
his six accomplices. This grove, that was
NOW 50 pcdctlill. must Ailtn HdNt Iuub
with cries, ! thought; and even with
the thought | could believe heard il
ringing still.
We were now at the margin of the
thicket
'Huzza. mates, altogether" shouted
Merry: and the foremost broke into a
run.
And suddenly. not ten yards further.
we beheld them stop. A low cry arose.
Silver doubled his pace, digging away
with the foot of his crutch like one
possessed. and next moment he and
had come also To a dead halt.
Before us was great excavation,
not very recent. for the sides had fallen
in and grass had sprouted on the bot
tom. In this were the shaft of pick |
broken in two and the boards of sew
sral packing eases strewn around. On
one of these boards saw. branded with |
a hot iron. the name "Wafrus"-the
lame of Flint's ship.
All was clear TO probation. The
ache had been found and rifled-the
c 100000 were gene!