Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-07-20

and Straddlod 1t lie was Blad enough
to sit there for space. to regain bis
wind for the ascent had been. pretty
stir work.
From his vantage point he could
trace the sea brink ahead Of them 1t
Tapped the edge of honeycombed cliffs
as far round as he could follow it.
There was no more foroshore. The land
ended abruptly in chaos Of tumblcd
rocks.
"No use going on, Dolly" he sang
out land no use your scrambling up
here Walk up the rise to that palm
tree with the twisted stem, and I'll
climb along the ridge and join you
there.
For another hour they scrambled
slowly along, and the sun grew hotter
and hotter. They were making for pc
culiarly shaped rock, which showed ont
boldly at what seemed to be one Of the
highest points of the island, for they
hoped that from it they might perhaps
be able to mark down the position of
the spring by noting the brighter green
surround it, or even, it might be, by
catching the CLINT of the sun on its sur
face.
But they were not fated to reach
that objective without halt and as It
| turned out a very long halt.
| They came upon cave suddenlv-so
suddenly, indeed that they were almost
i.,.l Co.. l.,
did not show till they were straight i'll
front of it, and as a spine of rock rose
mp directly before it the cave could not
be seen at all from the water. Nature,
its sole architect. had hidden it with Il
cunning which seemed almost inten-
tional
Ii was evidently one of the caves for
which DR.. firing had said that Piper 5
cay was celebrated, and the explorers
archaeological Interest Dol
ly called it-was promptly relighted
/ Visions of hidden treasure, guarded
perhaps by a grim skeleton sentinel,
occurred to them both as they pressed
forward.
Come along, Alanl" cried Dolly
eagerly. at S most delciousIy eXcit-
ingl" And she waved him aside with
her hand and led the way into the cave.
The entrance was wedge shaped and
narrow at first But the sides very soon
began to retreat from one another,
though the roof still remained low.
Stalactites had evidently hung from
above at one time for the stumps OF
them still remained, but they had been
broken off and carted outside; perhaps,
suggested Dolly, because they ohstruct
ed the treasure hiders road Cnderfoot
the rocky path, though not altogether
smooth, was still passahle, and the pain
got along without much trouble
The light from the entrance behinf
grew DINNER as they advanced But
here and there We're gaps in the stone
ceiling, shafts reaching to the open air
whose upper edges they could soc wert
garlanded with a thick growth of fern'
and creepers. Through these shaft
there came Il gentle twilight glow, anC
as the rock walls of the cave were al
most white the reflection from then
gave light enough for the explorers t
see the grotto's outlines.
There were plenty Of evidences o
human agency Every here and there {
footmark could be seen III some dried
muddy patch of the floor, and it wa
an eerie thought that the foot whic'
had made it might well have been deaf
century or even more. And every
where there were the broken stalacttes
which Of Il surety could not have tum
bled down and then marched off b.
themselves from the floor on which the
had fallen
But of any more valuable relics ther
was not trace There were none q
those kegs and barrels. those iron boun
chests and piles of rusty armor, thos
lavish heaps Of plumber with which, b
all the canons of romance such plac
Ought to have been stored, And a
Guthrie remarked. the cave was bon
dry and had long been undisturbed, an
therefore they were clearly within thel
rights in expecting TO find such relics
The persistent thought that perhaI
the pirates had themselves carried o.
all they had left there or that some otf
er folk had since riiled the hoard wa
steadfastly put away. "Whoever hear
of people coming out Of so romantic
situation as this empty handed ? Dc
manded Dolly, when her companion su9
gested that their case had afiiniti,
with that of the late Mrs Hubbard.
; SO on they went, penetrating farth'
> and farther under the surface Of the il
land, and always lighted by the shat
which at intervals capped the roo
' above.
At last after wandering fully thre
quarters of mile from the entrance
Z they came upon an obstruction whicl
though it barred their farther progres
sent up the hopes of find almost to f
j, yer heat
u 1t was door of hard wood. heavi
3 clalnped with corroded metal set
', doorposts that We're cleated and mo
- tised into the sides of the cave itself.
y The nearest light shaft was 30 yar'
q astern, and so the door was in dee
shadow 1t was with their hands, Their
; fore, that the eager searChers examine
it chiefly, fumbling about it and givii
" every square inch Of it the most curio'
y attention There was no latch. II
door did possess keyhole, though, "a
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