The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-12-15

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 Naturally. as Gleason originated the scheme he was elected captain. but as I was the only navi gator in the crowd, was made first mate, and the big nigger Pango Pete, second mate
 After were around the Cape Gleason gave me the latitude and longitude of the spot, and made for it. It took me two or three days of care full observations and calculations before announced that we were within six seconds of the spot which is all that navigation will do. Then we dropped anchor and began to drag. We knotted together every line we had and in the middle we had length of mooring chain that would stick to the was attached, quarter of a mile apart and pulled parallel lines. and at last felt drag; then we pulled together, gathering in the slack, and when we met the schooner under charge of Gleason, came up and anchored. over the spot.
 q was the only man there who had any diving been under water in a diving suit, trusting your
 life to the fellows above who pump the air into hea tha feeling as went down that r was num. Der thirteen of that bunch. and that they only needed to shut off my air supply to make their number twelve instead of thirteen. But that didn't happen; they pumped, and breathed and saw the old galleon, the Santa Margherita. She lay there, heeled to starboard covered with the ooze and the slime of the sea. with barnacles everywhere.
 "The deck and rail were foot thick with mud, and the small, spardeck guns could hardly be dis tnguished. saw at once that would need help, and signaled to be hauled up. On deck told the news and all hands, even the Jap, went crazy over it. We got out two more diving suits. rfgged bulb for each, and Pango Peters. and myself went down again.
 "Now. this isn't yarn of the finding of that treasure: Anyone can invent M such G yarns and I've fully. with each man wealthy and happy. This Is . yarn of the mon who found that treasure. and didn't ane . skeleton or ghost when we we got below decks: All hands were up. I suppose. when plunged. washed them 'on <. We found seven big chests in the tween decks forward of the cabin. and in them all were coins. and jewelry, and here and there in the mess, what might have been an opal. or some kind of jewel. All the stuff was black from the action of the salt water; but we knew we had the real thing. and hooked on tackles We had to come up to help each time we lifted
 chest, for, after the chest was out of water. 1t was too heavy for the crowd above; but at last of the cabin Then after finasearch for other loot worth taking, we picked up our anchor and cleared out not yet having decided where were going.
 We were pirates under the law. and didn't know but what all the revenue cutters on the coast were looking for for the theft of that schooner. But with millions of bullion and jewels, melted down, counted up. and translated into cash in some bank we didn't care for the charge of piracy The real trouble was to get that stuff trans lated. and while we argued we sailed due east out into the broad Atlantic Peters, the young enthusi ast, had been jeweler, and he told that noth- ing short of blast of air in conjunction with the heat of fire would melt gold and silver We'll, where could we set up blast furnace with not a dollar in the party? My suggeston-and I was backed by Gleason, Peters, and old Sullivan was that count out the loot separate every salable jewel, and make some big port like New York. Liverpool Rio Janeiro, sell the jewels and
 
 posa of the rest; but had to deal with men like Pango Christo, Pedro, and the three Dutchmen, wanted an immediate count up and division; then, each man to go his way. The nonsense of it did not strike them; thirteen men to divide up seven heavy chests-each shouldering seventhir teenths of a load that took the whole thirteen to lift with fourfold tackle. We asked the Jap cook what he thought, but he had no opinion.
 Its somewhat curious how the different men of that bunch had different ideas of what they wanted Young Peters wanted to go back to his native cause he was poor. Pango Pedro. and the two Souwegians only wanted a big drunk Old Man Sullivan wanted course in in Nautical School and ed to get to New York and set up in the saloon business. Gleason wanted to study law, and wanted to study medicine and be doctor, a gen. teman who could enter any society in the world The Jap didn't give out his aspirations.
 And so. growing like an unhappy family in menagerie. we sailed east, with the question un- settled. But at last won over the Dagoes and the Dutchmen. and agreed upon New York as a port. and the selling of the jewels in some Bowery pawnshop. where no questions are asked Then we shook hands all round, gave the Jap he'll about his cooking we had been too worried to attend to that matter before-and squared away before the trade wind for Sandy Hook and market From jealousy and mutual dstrlst, we all slept in the cabin. There were plenty of staterooms for the crowd. though some of doubled up None of wanted to remain away from the seven chests of treasure and the Japanese cook who might have slept in the cooks next the galley still showed preference for his in the cabin and did contest 1t. But now we were million ares ana eaSy-dead easy. We stood watch, steered and trimmed sail with man for boss for now the work done, Gleason and myself and the nigger Pango gave up our false positions. We were democracy, and loved and trusted one another only, when reused out the watch below and found that Old Man Sullivan did not come and on Investigation found him stone dead in his berth without sign of violence. forgot our brotherly love and began to wonder.
 We did not know what he died of, but we gave him burial that day. and Gleason read a chapter from the book. We concluded that the old man had died of heart failure. old age and thought no more about it after the day had passed. But when called the watch at eight bella next