Sioux County pioneer., 1921-12-29


1t was not, after all, labor Of Her
cules. The cabin was small and the
chest large. watched with the pride
of proprietorship the swift ease with
which the steel-sinewed arms of the
Scot made the caked sand fly. Then
the spade struck something which sent
back dull metallic sound through the
muftling sand.
gave little shrek of excitement.
Hardly could 1 have been more thrilled
If had believed the chest still to con-
tain the treasure of which it had been
ravished. 1t was filled to It's BRASS
bound lid with romance, il not with
gold.
At length, kneeling before 1t, ]
raised with an effort the heavy lid.
Empty, Of course-nW more brown
bags. But oh, Dugald, had ever girl
such a wonderful brides chest as this?
O-Oh!"
whats wrong?"
Nothing, only there is crack In
the bottom, running all the way along
where it joins the side."
warped bit, suppose. No mat
ter, 1t can be easily repaired-crackf
say, lassie, look here!"
Under the pressure Of Dugalds fin.
gers the floor Of the chest was swing
ing upward on an invisible hinge. Be.
tween it and the true bottom was q
space Of about three inches in depth.
It seemed to be filled with layer of
yellowed cottonwood.
For long moment we held our
breath, gazing at each other with eyes
which asked the same question. Then
Dugald lifted corner of the sheet Of
cotton and plucked it away.
| At once all the hues of the rainbow
seemed to be flashing and sparkling
before us. Rubies were there like
great drops of the blood that the chest
and its treasure had wrung from the
hearts of men; sapphires, mirroring
the blue Of the tropic sky; emeralds,
green as the island verdure; pearls
white as the milk Of the coconuts and
softly luminous as the phosphorescent
foam which broke on the beach in the
darkness. And there were diamonds
that caught CLEANS of all the others
beauty, and then Knocked them with
matchless splendor.
There were nine heavy bracelets, all
jewel-set; twenty-three rings eight Of
them for the hand Of man. Some of
these rings contained the finest of the
diamonds except for three splendid
unset stones. There were numbers Of
elaborate old-fashi0ned earrings, two
rope-like chains Of gold adorned with
jewels at intervals, and several jew
eled lOckets. There was a solid gold
snuf-box, engraved with a coat of
arms and ornamented with seventeen
fine emeralds. There were, besides
the three diamonds, eighty-two unset
stones, among them, wrapped by itself
In cotton, a ruby Of extraordinary size
and luster. And there was a sort of
coronet or. tiara, sown all over with
clear white brilliants.
Ours? Yes, for whether or not there
were an infection of piracy in the
very air of the island, so that to seize
with the high hand, to hold with the
iron grasp, seemed the law Of life, we
decided without qualm against the
surrender Of our treasure-trove to it's
technical owners. Technical only: for
one felt that, In essence, all talk of
ownership by this man or that had
long ago become idle: Fate had held
the treasure in fee to give or to with
hold. Senor Gonzales had had his
chance at the chest, and he had missed
the secret Of the hidden hoard, had
left 1t to lie forgotten under the sand
until In some tropic storm it should
be engulfed by the waters Of the cove.
More than this, had he not most spe-
cihcally made over to me the Island
Queen and all that 1t contained? This
was title clear enough to satisfy the
most exacting Journalist. And we were
not Journalists, nor inclined In any
quibbling spirit to question the de-
crees Of Fortune. As treasure-hunt.
ers, we had been her deyotees too
long.
So after all it was not my scornful
skepticism but the high faith Of Miss
Higglesby-Brown which was justified
by the event, and the Harding Browne
expedition left the island well repaid
for its tolls and perlls. Plus the two
bags Of doubloons, which were added
to the spoils, the treasure brought us
q sum so goodly that dare not name
1t, for fear Of the apparition Of Senior
Gonzales and the Santa Marinan navy
looming up to demand restitution.
Like true comrades, we divided share
and share alike. and be sure that no.
one grudged Cookie the percentage
which each was taxed foE his benefit.
And now come to the purpose Of
this story-for though we'll concealed
it has had one from the beginning. It
is to let Helen, whoever and wherever
she may be-; IL still Of this world, know
Of the fate Of Peter, and to tell her
that.when she asks for them she. Is to
have my most cherished relics of the
island. Peters Journal and the silver
- a a. "a !.