The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1904-06-15
TRITON ISLAND
lcopyrlght. isoi. by c. B. Lewis

s13Ac DftllS Tx 80 NAtlhtQ oH AEAN91
island, in The China sea. where lie
found a big Chinese junk full of sil-
yer bars worth $4,000 He removed
the bars to grove and two weeks
later was rescued by a passing vessel.
Resolved 10 get the treasure, made
up party 10 do so.
Five Of us were TO make up purse
for the expense and share aud share
Lllke. OF course the arrangement was
not concluded until the other four had
seen Andrews and heard his story and
satisfied themselves as to its truth.
After carefully canyassing the matter
Il was thought best that be and
should take steamer to Singapore and
there hire and man a sailing craft to
proceed TO the island and fetch away
the treasure.
When we reached Singapore the first
move was to fiHd and charter craft.
1 cautioned my man over and over
again not TO drop hint of what We
were after. Indeed. after finding a
craft to please me we did not pretend
to know each other in public, and he
shipped aboard OF her In the regular
way as a foremost hand.
had not seen Andrews for three
or four days when called at his
boarding house one evening to give
him fresh instructions and found him
so drunk that was unable TO arouse
him. BY few careless inquiries from
the landlady learned that he had
been knocking around all day with
two strangers, one OF whom was chief
mate of an American vessel and just
out of hospital after run OF fever.
Next morning found Andrews quite
sobered up and very much ashamed
of himself He plainly told me that
he feared he had said too much to the
strangers the day previous. He had
not intended TO go on a spree, and Il
was his belief that he had been drug
ged. He was frightened and repentant.
but our only recourse was TO hope that
no harm had been done and to push
along as fast as possible.
Two days before we were ready to
sail. an Arab dhow, which had bean
berthed near our craft and aboard Of
which had seen the Yankee mate Hhi
several other English speaking people,
sailed away to the north. leaving the
harbor at night and as secretly as pos
sible
From the moment of the departure
of the dhow felt sure that she was
acting on hint dropped by Andrews.
1t was question Of how much he had
told. II he had not mentioned the
name of the island, then we had still
good show. The news of the loss Of the
Junk at sea was public property In
way, and at least two searching ex-
petitions had spent some time trying
to solve the mystery of her fate. We
worked day and night to get off, and
we were only two days behind the
dhow. She had left with fair wind.
and all the way up to the gulf of Siam
we had wretched luck and no show
whatever to overtalie her.
II was long. dreary voyage we had
up the China sen. and 1t was not half
complete before Andrews fell III. Ills
only nilment was renorse. For many.
long months be had dreamed and
planned on what he would do when
that treasure was recovered. His
share of 1t. with wages added. would
enable him 10 leave the sea and spend
the rest OF Ills days on land. 1t was
the fear that he had been foolish
enough TO betray the secret that hat
assed him until he became seriously III.
On arriving at the island at last u
boat was sent of to see If the place
was clear. She found no craft and
Went far enough up the bay to see the
wreck of the junk. We then lowered
another boat and lowed our craft IN,
and as soon as she had been anchored
and made snug we landed and made
straight for the thicket where the sIl
yer bars had been hidden away years
before.
1t did not take US a minute to dis
cover that they had been removed, and
that within few days. In place OF
them were broken spades and the
prints OF shoes, and on the beach near
the wreck were the ashes Of camp.
Ere. We beat up the locality, thinking
the bars might have been removed to a
new place, and before we were done
with the search we took In the whole
island
We had at last TO face the fact that
some one had got ahead of us and Sc
cured the treasure. and Andrews was
SO upset by it that he took TO his bed
and did nothing but lament and call
down curses on the heads OF the UNI
known. The day before we were to
leave he died, and we buried him In
the pit from which the silver bars had
been taken. In widening the grave we
came across n single bar which had
been accidentally left behind. but that
was our sole share Of the loot we had
come so far TO bear away.
We Of course suspected that the
dhow which had sailed away ahead Of
Us had got the money. but found out
nothing positive until the day we bur
led Andrews. Then one OF the men
picked up a piece of paper that had
once been affixed to a tree. but had
later on been detached by the wind.
On 1t was scrawled In pencil and In a