The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1922-01-05

from the cabin roof, and fell to work.
1t was not, after all, q labor Of Her
cules. The cabin was small and the
chest large. l watched with the pride
Of proprietorship the swift IA with
Scot made the caked sand fly. Then
the spade struck something which sent
back a dull metallic sound through the
mufiling sand
l gave a little shrek of excitement.
Hardly could l have been more thrilled
If l had believed the chest still TO con-
tain the treasure of which Ii had been
ravished. 1t was filed to its brass
bound lid with romance, IL not with
gold.
At length, kneeling before it, 1
raised with an effort the heavy lid.
Empty, of course-no more brown
bags. But oh, Dugald, had ever n girl
such a wonderful brides chest as this?
Ooh I"
whats wrcngf"
Nothing, only there Is a crack in
the bottom, running all the way along
where it joins the side"
warped a bit, / suppose. No mat
ter, it can be easily repaired-crack?
| say, lassie, look here! !"
Under the pressure of Dugald's fin
gers the floor Of the chest was swing
.ng upward on an invisible hinge. Be
tween it and the true bottom was a
n,Nny M 30 about I.n t-nhna In lnpr6
1t seemed TO be filled with a layer of
yellowed cottonwood.
For a long moment we held our
breath, gazing at each other with eyes
which asked the same question. Then
Dugald lifted q 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 cocomuts and
softly luminous al 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 a
matchleSs splendor.
There were nine heavy bracelets, all
jewel-set (; twenty-three rings, eight of
them for the hand of a man. Some of
these rings contained the finest of the
diamonds, except for three splendid
unset tones There were numbers of
elaborate Old-fashiOned earrings, two
rope-like chains of gold adorned with
jewels at intervals, and several jew
eled lOckets. There was a solid gold
snuff-boX, engraved with a coat of
arms and ornamented with seventeen
fine emeralds. There were, besides
the three diamonds, e~ighty-two unset
stones, among them, wrapped by itself
in COTTON, a ruby of extraordinary size
and rtster. And there was a sort of
coronet or tiara. sown all over with
clear white brilliants.
Ours1 Yes, for whether or net there
were au Infection of piracy in the
very air Of the island. so that to seize
with the nigh hand, to hold with the
iron grasp, seemed the law of life, we
decided without q qualm against the
surrender % 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
lnnu nnn hn.annnn fIlA INntA Eal k.II
h treasure in fee to give or to with
hold. Senior Gonzales had had his
chance at the chest. and he had missed
the secret Of the hidden hoard. had
left ii TO lie forgotten under the sand
until In some tropic storm it should
More than this, had he not most spe-
officially made over to me the Island
Queen and all that Ii contained? This
was a title clear enough TO satisfy the
most eXacting Journalist. And we were
not Journalists, nor inclined in any
quibbling spirit t o question the de-
crees of Fortune. AS treasure-hunt-
ers, we had been her devotees too
long.
So after all 1t was not my scornful
skepticism but the high faith of Miss
Higglesby-Browne which was justified
by the event, and the Harding-Browne
expedition left the island well repaid
for Its tolls and perils. Plus the two
bags of doubloons. which were added
to the spoils. the treasure brought us
a sum so goodly that | dare not name
it, 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 for his benefit.
And now / come to the purpose OF
This story-for though well concealed
II has had one from the beginning. 1t
is TO let Helen. whoever and wherever
she may be, If 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
shoe-buckle which he found In the
sand OF the treasure-cave and was
taking home to her.