Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-09-02
CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVII.
n Which the Treasure Causes Trouble
But the men did not forget, or cease
IN their eager efforts to rescue that
frozen gold from the grasp of the ice.
BY this time, thoroughly convinced
myself that our final preservation of
This wealth would prove impossible, I
was still far from devoid Of interest
IN its recovery, and consequently
made no effort to interrupt the work
being carried on between decks. It,
WAS better that the men be busy and
their minds occupied than to have
them roaming aimlessly about the
decks In discomfort, now that the ship
and weather gave US little occasion
Tor concern. Here they vigorously
Piled the cleaver, working in relays OF
two hours each, during the remainder
Of the day and night. After break
fast had been served we all Of us went
below to unite our strength in hauling
forth the loosened box from the ice
cavity.
We accomplished this by resorting
20 block and tackle. and even then ex-
psrienced no small difficulty in drag
ging it away from the ice grip. Under
the dim candlelight 1t appeared fair
sized sea-chest, constructed Of some
heavy, dark wood. and bound secure
~ by metal bands, with cumbersome
)ock. A considerable Quantity of wa
Ger from somewhere continued to seep
down into the lazarette, making the
door an icy puddle, and so we tailed on
70 the ropes again, and hoisted the
chest up through the trap-door out up
on the cabin deck. l could find no
keys In any Of the state-rooms, and
we must have been half an hour break
ing the rusty lock and prying open
the lid, the only sounds audible the
blows struck and the heavy breathing
OF the men. Finally we wrenched apart
the. last band, and our eager eyes be-
held the revealed contents-pieces-of-
eight, yellow and level to the top!
There was wild yell, fierce scram-
BILE, the crazed men digging their fin-
gers into the coins, handling them,
fondling them, laughing and crying
like children in their excitement, and
cursing each other as they struggled
ment, staring down at the dull glow Of
the metal, even lost control of my
self, scarcely aware of the mad uproar.
It was actually there-there before
me! That old Spanish record had all
been true; here, and beneath that ice
between decks lay {. the remainder
thrse million pesos! Here was the
wealth of king; here, almost within
reach Of our hands, and it YVES all ours
ours. If we could only bring it forth
to where it possessed value.
IT we only could! The thought
struck me like blow I knew the
truth, the truth. There was not one
chance in a thousand-not one.
made no effort to deceive myself The
men, even the mate, blinded by the
gold-lust had ignored facts plain as
day to me--the terrible listing of the
ship to port, the constant seeping of
water into the hold, the increasing
soddenness of the staggering hull-all
these combined to tell the story-that
the Donna Isabel was doomed. No
power of men, situated as we were,
could ever save her. The protecting
ice-sheath, by help of which she had
drifted ghost-like out of the Antarctic,
pounded by the fierce seas, loosened
by the milder air of more northern
attitudes, had already commenced to
flake off, and the invading water was
discovering crevices everywhere along
her ancient seams. We had come to
the gold; we had discovered it; it
was ours. But we could only gaze on
It, and give it back to the ocean in ex-
change for our lives. l Strengthened
up, my lips compressed, and looked be-
yond the struggling figures of the men
Into Doris Questioning gray eyes.
Father of Mercy, possessed some
thing worth more than money-the
love Of woman! Ay. but what of
the men? What of the men? It would
be cutting their hearts out; yet 1t
must be done-done, if necessary, with
all the brutality Of slave driver. She
had said this treasure was curse, a
legacy of crime and death. a prize
for dead men. Not while retained
mind and body to battle should 1t cost
our lives. pushed De Nova back
ward. and planted myself across the
open chest scowling into the uplifted,
angry faces.
That's enough, men. This is part
Of the treasure all right, but there is
no occasion for you to 60 crazy over
It. Put those coins back-do you hear,
McKnight?-put them back, and we'll
shut down the lid. They're nice to
look at, and dream over, but that's
about all the good we'll ever get of
them. Were there any signs of 9th.
ers down there in the ice. Johnson?"
mo. sir. but they'll be there"
oh. yes, no doubt they'll be there,
but the only way we could ever get
them out would be to run this hooker
ashore in some mild climate and let
the ice melt. It's plain enough to see
what has happened. The Donna Isa-
bel sailed in ballast, these chests be-
Ing about the only cargo she carried.
They shifted In the heavy seas, and
the Lord only knows where they are
now. Anyway. they are safe beyond
the reach Of your ice cleaver."
They stsred into EACH others faces.
the disagreeable truth slowly pene-
oNn%frsv AknS- nopv.. u.