The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-07-02
CHAPTER ~.
! Charter the MAGGIE Darling"

Charter the maggie Darling"
As luck would have II. the loss, or
rather the theft of Henry p. Tobias
narrative was not so serious as IL at
first seemed. for 1t fortunately Glanced
that John Saunders had had il copied
but the theft remained none the less
mysterious.
However. leaving that mystery for
later solution, John Saunders Charlie
Webster and ! spent the next evening
in a general and particular criticism
of the narrative itself There were
several obvious objections to be mace
against its authenticity. To start with.
Tobias, at the time of his deposition.
was an old man-seventy-five years
old-and Ii was more than probable
that his experiences as a pirate would
date from his early manhood; they
were hardly likely TO have taken place
as late as his fortieth year The mar.
rative, indeed, suggested their taking
place much earlier. and there would
thus be space of at least forty years
between the burial of the treasure
and his deathbed revelation. II was
natural to ask: Why during all those
years did he not return and retrieve
the treasure for himself? Various
circumstances may have prevented
him. the inability from lack Of means
to make the journey, or what not;
but certainly one would need to mag
inc circumstances of peculiar power
that should be strong enough TO keep
a man with so valuable a secret In his
possession so many years from taking
advantage of it.
For a long while, too, the names
given to the purported sites of the
treasure caches puzzled us. Modern
maps give no such places as dead
Mems Shoes and "Short Shrift
island" but at last, In map dating
back to 1853. we came upon one OF
the two names. So far the veracity
OF Tobias was supported. Dead
Mems Shoes proved to be the old
name for a certain cay some twenty
miles long. about day and half's
sail from Nassau. one of the long
string Of coral islands now known as
the "Exuma Gays" But of "Short
a trace.
"All the same" said /, "the adven-
ture calls me; the adventure and that
million and half dollars-and those
Dead Mems Shoes'-and / intend to
undertake 1t. / am not going to let
your middle-aged skepticism discour-
age me Treasure or no treasure.
there will be the excitement of the
quest, and all the fun Of the sea-"
"And some duck perhaps" added
Charlie.
"And some shark fishing for GER
tain" said John.
The next thing was to set about
getting q boat and crew.
After looking over much likely and
unlikely craft we finally decided on
two-masted schooner of trim but
solid build. the Maggie Darling. AZ
feet over all and ID beam: something
under twenty tsns, with an auxiliary
gasoline engine Of "a horse power,
and an alleged speed of ten knots.
Next, the crew.
"You will need captain. cook. an
engineer and deckhand," said Char
lie. "and have the captain and the
cook all ready for you"
That afternoon we rounded them
all up. including the engineer and the
deckhand, and we arranged to start.
weather permitting. with the morning
tide. which set east at six o'clock on
July 10. 1908.
Ships stores were the next detail,
and these, including fifty gallons of
gasoline, over and above the tanks
and three barrels of water, being duly
got aboard. on the evening of July
IL all was ready for the start; an eve
ming which was naturally spent In
parting conclave In John Saunders
snuggery.
"Why. one important thing you've
forgotten" said Charlie. "Machetes-
and spades and plckaxes. And I'd
take q few sticks Of dynamite along
with you too. I can let you have the
lot. Wen set them aboard tonight"
TITS . Dity ron have to give e