Bontemps--45

enjoying the mountains, the driver keeping his eye on the turns in the
road. Suddenly the man added, "Gonaives is a famous old town."

"How come you say that?" Slumber asked, remembering nothing but
ugly mud buildings. "It didn't look so proud to me."

"No," the driver admitted. "It's not so proud now. It used to
be, though. Away back in history, a hundred and fifty years ago, Gon-
aives was the place where our General Toussaint met the French officers."

"Toussaint! The one what buried the money!" Slumber exclaimed
loudly.

The driver laughed.

"Well, they say he buried his fortune. Nobody knows for sure.
Some folks say he shot the men who buried it so that it couldn't never
be told where the gold is hid. I don't know. Nobody knows. All we
know is that he whipped the French armies, whipped them good and plenty.
Later on the French made out like they wanted peace. They pretended
to surrender, and Toussaint came to talk things over under a flag of
truce. But it was a trick. They captured the general and took him
to France and put him in a dungeon till he died. Gonaives was the place
where they met."

"Oh," Slumber murmured. "I see. They double-crossed Toussaint,
hunh?"

"That's it. Double-crossed him."

"Dog scat their scates," Slumber said angrily. "That ain't no
way to fight--double-crossing. Wish I'd been there, I would have
helped old Toussaint."

"Maybe you can help us find his money," the driver smiled. "We
could use some of that money now to help fix up these old no-good
roads."

"That's the ticket," Slumber told him. "If I run across any thing

Bontemps--46

I'll let you know."

The road made a hair-pin turn and came between the folds of towering hills. Walls of broken, crumbly stone rose on one side. On the other a gorge opened, a deep dangerous gorge with a swift torrent flowing in its rocky bed. Careful driving was required in this section. Slumber's heart was in his mouth as he looked over the edge of the ravine. Like the rest of the passangers he became very silent and thoughtful as the old buss chugged along.

The sun was sinking, and it was plain that night would fall upon them before they got over the great mountains of the north.

Bontemps--47

VIII

A Ride in the Dark

The buss reached Le Cap about two hours after dark. Soup and the boys went to a house which the driver pointed out and found rooms in which they could stay for a few nights. They were all tired after the rough day's ride, and Slumber's knees were weak as a result of the many scares he had received on the last stretch of mountain road.

The boys sat in their room a few minutes, eating what was left of the lunches. Soup had made, and then washed up and went to bed. The next morning they set out with Soup to find Captain Zeus and his one-eyed companion. This was not a hard job, because there was only one real hotel in the strange city, and the two pirate-looking men were sitting on the veranda of this hotel smoking their pipes in the bright morning sunshine.

"Have any trouble getting here?" Captain Zeus asked.

"Not a speck," Soup told him. "We come across them big old mountains like a camel stepping over ant hills."

"That's more than we can say," the captain said. He looked from one to another of the boys, then added, "We've run into trouble. Real, first-class trouble."

"That's bad news," Slumber whispered.

"What kind of trouble?" Soup wanted to know.

There was a pause while Captain Zeus and Grenny looked at each other strangely. It seemed that they were trying to make up their minds whether or not to tell the boys what had happened.

Bontemps--48

"There's a bad-luck boat here in the harbor," Grenny explained.

"That's it," Captain Zeus added. "There's a boat here that we didn't want to see. A schooner like ours, but it's called the *Spider*. The captain is the toughest Turk you ever saw, and he doesn't like Grenny and me. He's bad luck."

"How come he's hanging around this town?" Slumber asked.

"He's a smuggler. He'd love to get his finger in our business, too. That's why we can't waste any time. We start tonight. I hope the *Balm Queen* will be here by then."

The boys walked about the town the rest of the morning. In the afternoon they climbed a hill to get a view of King Henri Christophe's wonderful citadel, a powerful fortress built high on the peak of the tallest mountain in that section, a fortress so high and mighty it could be seen for thirty or forty miles and so wonderful people came from America and Europe by the boatload to see it.

After supper they returned to the hotel and waited for Captain Zeus and Grenny at the entrance gate. Night fell, and the men came down the steps and climbed into the back seat of the car they had hired. Soup sat beside the native driver. The Dozier brothers clung to the outside of the car while standing on the running boards.

Half an hour later, after a ride through a paradise of moonlight and cocoanut palms, they came to a village. Here they left their driver while the captain went to a place he knew and rented horses enough for the whole party to ride and an extra one to carry the picks and shovels that had been brought along. During the minutes it took for Captain Zeus to arrange for these, Grenny explained that they were within a few miles of the citadel. He said that the man who kept horses and mules for rent did so because the tourists who came every week to see the great fortress *Grenville's Hotewalk* did not wish to walk seven miles up

Bontemps--51

nodded, and the procession started again.

They covered several more miles, passed a small clump of
native huts, wound in and out among hills and found themselves
finally in a place where they could hardly get around the big rocks
that had evidently been in the bottom of the former stream. Then
they came to a sort of jumping-off place.

"This was a waterfall," the captain said. "It's plain. And it's all on the map. Get off your horses. Let's get a move on. We've got to dust around." They were all deeply impressed by his commanding tone. A hush fell over the group. They paid him strict attention. "You get a pick, Soup. Grenny, bring a shovel. I'll take that flashlight. You boys take care of the horses. There's a cave under that jumping-off place. When water was in this stream, the cave couldn't be seen. The water fell over the front of it. That's where the treasure's buried. And that's another reason why I said we're lucky."

No one answered. All began to do what they had been told, began to do it as fast as possible. Slumber led one horse in each hand, as did both of his brothers. They went into the thickets with the animals and waited for the digging to get started.

They had not waited long when suddenly the work stopped. Captain Zeus, Grenny and Soup quickly gathered up their tools. Voices of men could be heard approaching in the distance.

"You boys better stroll on up the line a piece," the captain said in a whisper. "The three of us men will climb up the side of that hill and get out of sight. Somebody's coming. It may be the captain of the Black Spider with some of his sailors. We wouldn't like for them to run across us here. There are too many of them. Besides, we don't want anybody else meddling in our business."

Bontemps--52

"We understand everything," Slumber said quickly. "We are right now, Captain Zeus. We'll walk up yonder towards where we passed them huts."

The boys were off with the words, for the voices were rapidly drawing nearer and nearer. Slumber, for his part, had no ambition to meet the smuggler and his men. He was anxious, too, to get the horses well out of sight. The three boys therefore withdrew quietly from the path of the voices.

"If we had some conjure or voodoo business, we might could scare folks away from where the digging is going to be," Little Willie said as they walked.

"That's a smart notion," Slumber agreed. "Let's leave the horses tied-up here now and go see what we can find in them huts."

The other two agreed, and all tied their animals to the scrubby trees of the thicket. A moment later they came out of the shadows into a clearing of bright moonlight.

"Boy, look a-yonder!," Rags exclaimed suddenly.

"Where'douts?" Slumber asked.

The taller boy pointed. There, directly above them, on the peak of an exceedingly high mountain was the famous citadel of the black king, Henri Christophe. They had been led by the captain to the very shadows of this great fortress without knowing exactly where they were.

"It's good-looking," Willie suggested.

"Good-looking is right," Slumber murmured. "Wish we was in it right now. I'd load up one of them old canons and dare that Spider crowd or anybody else to come near."

"Hush, son," Rags said impatiently. "You dreaming now. Let's get where we going and do what we fixing to do. It would be a mess to let an old smuggler like the one on the Spider to get his hands on

Bontemps--53

Toussaint's treasure."

"Leave it to me, big shorty. I'll show you how to head them off," Slumber said confidently.

He led his brothers to the cluster of native huts. They stood behind him waiting as he timidly knocked on the door.

Bontemps 154

IX

The Devil Dance

Meanwhile, the three men climbed to the ledge of an overhanging rock, high on the hillside, and lay on their stomachs looking down. Above them the citadel rose, very big, very grand, very beautiful in the moonlight.

"The pyramids in Egypt ain't got much on that there citadel," Big Soup said with admiration. "I can't see for the life of me how they got all the stones and canons and stuff up seven miles to the top of that mountain with nothing but a little tiny trail to walk on."

"Tough baby, that Christophe," Grenny said. "He was a slave that got free, worked hisself up to be king. Building that citadel wasn't all he did. He ran two or three of Napoleon's armies clean out in the ocean. Folks wouldn't leave him alone. Finally he got shed of them, though. After that he just spent all his time build-
ing a palace and that citadel up there."

"That's the trail right there," Captain Zeus said, pointing. "I've been up to it lots of times." He paused, peering down into the darkness far below. Presently he added, "How do you think those kids are making out, Soup?"

"I'm worried about them," Soup said, shaking his head. "Maybe I better go see what's come of them."

"Better hurry, though," the captain. "That crowd's not far away now. Sure as shooting, they're looking for us."

The big fellow vanished down the side of the hill.

Nearer and nearer drew the approaching men. It was now plain

Bontemps--55

that there was a big crowd of them.

"Do you figure they're after the treasure, too?" Grenny asked.

"They're after us," Captain Zeus said. "They want to see what we're up to. They won't find us. Just lay still."

"I've got a pistol here."

"Don't shoot, Grenny. Just lay still and wait."

They waited, waited another ten or fifteen minutes. Then, quite suddenly, they caught sight of the line of shadowy figures creeping like ants in the bed of the dried creek far below.

"They are near the old falls now."

"H'm."

"A dozen of them."

"Look! Look!" the captain exclaimed. "Great day, what's that?"

At that moment a sudden thunder broke in the thickets near the rocks that overlooked the old dry falls. Grenny and the captain rose to their knees in confusion and surprise.

"What kind of come off is this?" Grenny asked.

Drums rumbled. A savage roar came from tom-toms hidden in the thickets. The effect was stunning. The crew of the *Spider*, creeping along in the bed of the stream, became frightened. They halted at once. A moment later all of them huddled together strangely.

But the tom-toms were only a beginning. Out from the dark clumps stepped three naked figures. They were frightful things to see. White zebra stripes had been painted on their black bodies, and they danced a dance that reminded one of all the black witchcraft and magic of the deepest jungle.

Only one drum kept the time now. The others remained silent while the masked figures sported and danced in the moonlight. A moment later the three dancers disappeared. As soon as they were out of sight,

Bontemps--56

the full chorus of drums was heard again, rumbling like a fearful
underground thunder. Then it was that a massive single dancer leap-
ed from the bush--a figure so huge and terrible it didn't seem real.

This last one danced in a series of high leaps into the air.
His body, like those of the others, had broad stripes.

Grenny and the Captain saw the smuggler and his crew backing
away from the sdene. Finally the line of men went out of sight en-
tirely.

"Let's go down," Captain Zeus said.

"What do you make of it, Captain? Where did they come from?"

"The captain laughed loudly."

"You ask me what I make of it? Well, I'll tell you. Three smart
xmkz kids, that's all." He continued to giggle as the two went down
the side of the hill. "That was as cute a trick as ever I saw. And
it worked. That's the beauty part: it worked."

A few moments later they reached the bottom and went directly to
the clump from which the sounds came. There, laughing so hard they
could scarcely keep their hands on the drums, stood the Dozier boys
and Soup, still putting more real voodoo on the tom-toms than even
the natives could do. All of them, with their paint, looked like
demons from another world.

"Well, blow me down," Grenny said. "That sure beats me."

The captain showed his teeth in a broad smile.

"Where did you get the drums?" he asked.

"Up the line yonder," Rags said, pointing. "Slumber talked the
folks into letting us use them."

"But where on earth did you learn to beat the things?"

"Ain't nothing to playing music and beating drums," the sad-faced
boy explained. "Anybody can do things like that. Shucks, you just

Bontemps--58

"What time is it?" Grenny asked, getting ready to make the dirt fly.

Captain Zeus looked at his watch.

"Twenty minutes till midnight," he answered. Then he turned suddenly and pointed to Slumber. "Here, you," he said. "Let your brothers hold all the horses. You come handle the flashlight for us. That will give me a chance to do some work."

Slumber's heart pounded with excitement, but he did not speak. He simply followed the men over the rocks, entered the mouth of the cave and flashed the torch back into the black hole.

Bontemps--60

commented.

Meanwhile the sound of voices came so near that even Slumber
could hear the noise. The moon continued to shine brightly. Chat-
tering jungle birds awakened in the boughs of trees. The men in the
light of the torch worked harder and harder. Time was precious, and
they knew it right well.

"What time is it?" Grenny asked.

"Ten minutes till one."

An easy wind arose, a soft meandering breath of air from the
Caribbean sea. It rattled the cocoanut palms and the long, serpent-
like pods of the tchia-tchia trees. Slumber thought that it also
brought back the buccaneers and fighting men of the old times. The
captain, Grenny and Soup continued to labor in the light of the torch.
Slumber now held it very steadily.

Suddenly the boy heard Soup's pick strike metal. He held his
breath and waited. The object proved to be a rusty old grate,

"Well, at least there's something buried here," Grenny said.

"That ain't all," Soup told him calmly. "There's something else.
I felt it."

Again the tools rattled noisily. Dirt flew through the air.
The men could not have worked harder if they had been stung by bumble-
bees. A moment later, however, all this ceased.

"Something bigger this time," Captain Zeus said.

He was beside himself with excitement. Breathing hard as a
result of the hard work, he also began to tremble with excitement
now.

"What do you take it to be?"

"Don't say a word. Don't even breathe. It must weigh a ton.

Bontemps--61

Call the other boys. Bring the horses near."

Slumber began to feel dizzy. He couldn't decide which way to turn. He wanted to laugh and he wanted to cry. He became first cold and then hot. He felt strong one second and weak the next. Finally he gave the flashlight to the captain, staggered out of the cave and called his brothers.

Rags and Willie were clinging to the bridals of the horses. The two boys stood among the shadows with round eyes, not knowing whether to be glad or disappointed.

"Come over a little nearer with the horses," Slumber told them.

"Did they find it?" Willie asked.

"Don't say a word," Slumber told him proudly. "Don't even breathe. Don't bat your eyes. Just wait and see."

"Somebody's coming," Rags whispered. "Don't forget that. They ain't so far away neither."

Slumber took charge of two horses and led the way. The others followed promptly. Back at the opening of the cave, Slumber saw that a Grenny and Big Soup had hauled a heavy chest out of the hole. They stood over the treasure now, hiding their excitement behind grim, hard faces. Captain Zeus was on his knees hammering at the rusted fastenings.

"Hand me the pick," the captain asked a moment later. "Slip the handle out first."

Slumber got it for him; and Captain Zeus, holding the iron firmly in his hands, began pounding in earnest. Presently the hook slid a little way. Then a bolt commenced to give way. A moment later the top literally sprang from the tightly packed chest.

The first sight of the inside was disappointing. Dirt had sifted through. Some paper or cloth with which the loaded chest had been

Bontemps--63

keep up with me."

"If we can just get in that citadel and load up two or three of those canons," Slumber said softly, "we'll make them change their mind about following us everywhere we go."

"Hush," Rags whispered back. "Then canons is all rusty by this time. Best thing for us is to get inside and shut the door--if there is a door."

Bontemps--65

"Beat on the door," Captain Zeus ordered.

Everyone obeyed him. A pounding started that must have sounded like thunder to the guard.

"This old citadel sure is up here," Slumber said as he knocked.

"Two hours by horse from the bottom," the captain told him.

Still the knocking continued. Finally footsteps were heard on the inside. Presently there was the sound of things being moved near the door. Then a tiny peep-hole opened.

"We must come in," Captain Zeus told the soldier. "We have found Toussaint's buried treasure. Now we're being followed."

It was plain that the guard did not believe the story. Why, hadn't Haitians been looking for Toussaint's treasure for a hundred and fifty years? What did these strange Americans mean? What did they know about Toussaint, the great Haitian hero, anyhow? He smiled and shook his head.

"Hold on a minute," Soup said, stepping up near the peep-hole. "Sight beats the world, don't it?"

"Yes," the soldier agreed. "Sight beats the world I suppose. What do you mean?"

"I mean get a load of this what we got in the box. Understand? Cast your pining glances. Take a whiff. See?"

He and Grenny drew the chest in front of the peep-hole. Captain Zeus untied the rope. Big Soup bent over and filled his hands with the gold coins. Then he let the money trickle back into the chest.

"You Haitians act like you're from Missouri sometimes?" Grenny laughed.

"Oh, the stuff is here," Soup said proudly. "And, brother, I'm here to tell you it's mellow. Compre? Catch on?"

"Me, too," Slumber cried. "What Big Soup say, I say so too. Come

Bontemps--66

on, people, let us in. We ain't got time for no foolishness."

The guard was convinced, abundantly convinced. He removed the bars on the inside of the door and let the company enter. About the same time he was also convinced that the group was being followed. A crew of noisy Dominican sailors swept into the space before the door. The guard quickly closed the door and replaced the powerful bars. He was not a moment too soon. The men from the *Black Spider* began immediately to pound with their fists like savages.

Turning his back on the wild clamour outside, the guard led the company through the vast passages of the crumbling citadel. He carried a flashlight torch like Grenny's, so Slumber could see everything clearly. There was a succession of stairs and passages, stairs and passages. Finally they came to an interior yard and saw the sky overhead. They crossed this opening and entered a long gun chamber and began stumbling over rusted cannon balls. In one of these dungeon-like rooms the company finally halted.

Soup and Grenny rested their heavy burden.

"I'll get a candle for you," the guard offered. "You won't have to burn out your battery."

When he was gone, Grenny flashed his torch through the place. A long line of rusted cannon could be seen, each looking through an opening in the wall. Slumber walked to one of these openings, looked out.

"See anything?" Captain Zeus asked.

"Too dark," Slumber said.

Grenny offered his torch. The beam fell upon the crowd down below. There were more than a dozen of them. Their leader was a man with a mongolian face. He wore a white suit and a tropical hel-

Bontemps--67

met; but when he looked up, Slumber saw that he had a mustache that hung down along the sides of his mouth like two ugly strings. He and his men were behaving like mad dogs because they couldn't get the door open.

The guard returned with his tiny flame, set it on the barrel of the nearest cannon.

"You won't have trouble tomorrow," he said. "A cruise steamer stops at Cap Haitien tonight. There'll be tourists tomorrow and many guards going up and down the trail. These fellows will get out of your way by then. But about the treasure?"

"We'll report it as soon as we reach the city," Captain Zeus told him. "The Haitian government can take what it thinks is right. The rest--well, we'll remember your kindness when we divide the rest."

Below Slumber saw the sailors withdrawing.

"They don't like this light," Grenny said.

"They know how easy it would be for us to drop something on their heads," Captain Zeus explained. "Remember, they can't even see you."

"They sure been giving us fits long enough," Soup commented. He turned to the guard. "If worse comes to worst, we'll give them a fight," he added. "They'll think they got hold of a passel of wild cats if they hook up with us."

The guard smiled and went down to his room to finish his nap. Soup and Grenny sat down on opposite sides of the chest and commenced to nod. Captain Zeus pulled off his shoes, put them under his head and stretched out on the floor. Slumber and his brothers went into the next room.

"Feel like singing something?"

"Sure. Strike it up on your harmonica."

Bontemps--68

Slumber limbered up, gave the tune a fling.

"My money don't never give out;
Rich food is making me stout."

Rags and Willie blended their voices in the darkness of the old ruin. It was a comfort to be rid of the men from the <u>Black Spider</u>. And music was a comfort, too, after so much excitement. In fact, music was a comfort all the time, in Slumber's opinion.

"If my money was piled up high,
I b'lieve it would touch the sky.

Oh, my money don't never give out."

After a few minutes of this the Dozier brothers, too, began to feel sleepy. Slumber and his brothers stretched themselves upon the hard floor of the old gun chamber.

"Wonder where'bouts the secret passages are in this citadel," Slumber whispered.

"Who said they had secret passages in here?"

"All castles and such like things have secret passages, little half-pint."

"Hush, you two. I'm sleepy," Rags said, rolling against the wall with a grunt. "I don't want to hear about no secret passages and nothing else."

"Have it your way, big shorty. Have it your way."

Slumber yawned. Ho-hum. He was sleepy himself, plenty sleepy. He closed his eyes, and everything drifted away presently.

The boys were aroused by shouting voices. It was hard to say how long they had been asleep. Certainly it didn't seem to Slumber that he had rested much. What's more, it was still black dark through-out the citadel.

The first voice he heard was the voice of the guard. Slumber listened a moment and heard footsteps thundering up the stone steps.

Bontemps--69

Presently Captain Zeus was aroused. Slumber heard his voice. Then
he heard Grenny and Soup shouting as loud as they could. With this
the sad-faced boy jumped to his feet.

"Come on, bubbers. Something is happening."

Rags and Willie followed him instantly. They ran into the
part of the fortress where they had left the men. The guard, who was
at the same time racing up the steps, reached the men about the same
time.

"They got in," the soldier announced. "They found the secret
passage."

"Back out of the way," Captain Zeus whispered. "Stand back,
all of you. Don't use the light, Grenny. We've got a fight on our
hands."

He was unable to say more. The Dominican sailors were coming up
the stairs with a rush. Big Soup took his place at one of the turns.
Grenny stepped into the shadows at another turn. Captain Zeus and the
Haitian guard took other places. Slumber and his brothers remained in
the gun chamber, overlooking the steps. The treasure chest had not
been moved from the center of the space.

Suddenly the fight began. It could not be seen distinctly in the
darkness, but Slumber was sure that Soup had opened up with powerful
lefts and rights. He heard groaning and tumbling. In another moment
Grenny and the other men had pitched into the battle. A great con-
fusion of shouting and pounding followed.

"Old King Christophe didn't forget a thing when he was building,"
Slumber told his brothers. "The way he made the turns in them stairs
was just the thing for fighting folks that break in on you."

"I'm scared," Willie confessed.

"Look," Slumber said, "Let's see can us three lift that chest."

Bontemps--71

XII

Air Liner

The next morning another guard came to relieve the one who had spent the night in the citadel. The first soldier went down the hill, promising to call his headquarters as soon as he reached the village at which the treasure-hunters had rented their horses. He must have kept his word, because less than three hours later a detachment of soldiers with half a dozen native porters came to the citadel to escort the company down to Le Cap.

Two extra cars were waiting at the foot of the mountain, and the Dozier brothers rode comfortably back to the northern city in the rumble seat of a roadster that followed the car of Captain Zeus, Grenny and Soup. The treasure, brought down from the citadel by the porters, was placed in another automobile and guarded by a dozen soldiers. The whole procession rolled into the town, blowing horns and causing a great stir.

"We can't get away today," Captain Zeus told Soup and the boys as they parted at the hotel entrance. "There'll be business to settle. You boys might as well go to your room and catch up some sleep."

They took the captain's suggestion and enjoyed a good nap. By evening, however, the thing Slumber and his brothers were most interested in was catching up on some food. Soup carried them to a restaurant overlooking the sea wall and the harbor, and they sat around an open-air table and ordered everything they could name in French and everything the waiter could name in English. It worked out fine. The boys ate till they were helpless. Then they tumbled

Bontemps--72

out of their chairs, staggered down to the sea wall, found some shade
an
under/two old crooked tree and began to think about home.

Slumber produced his harmonica. The sun sank low beyond the
harbor and the hills. Fishermen began to return from the open
sea. Foamy waves washed against the bottom of the sea wall.

"What you rascals thinking about now?" Soup asked suddenly.

"About flying home in that air liner," Slumber answered. "That's
mighty proud riding for somebody what ain't got no shoes."

"Don't worry. You'll get shoes in Port-au-Prince. You'll look
good enough when the captain gets through dressing you up."

"What you aim to do with your money, Soup," Rags asked.

"Save it, boy. Put it in the bank. Then next time we hit
New Aw-leens again I'm going to step out. Yes, Lordy, I'm going
to come out of the barrel. Purple suit, high yellow shoes, green
hat--everything to match. I aim to take Rampart street by storm
around Thanksgiving time."

"Aw, strut it!"

"How you aim to spend yours, Slumber?"

"I believe I'll buy me a piano. And if there's any more left
then, I'll save it till Christmas and give a lot of presents."

Willie thought he would give his money to his mother--all he
didn't spend on toy fire engines and candy. Rags had his mind set
on a new suit, with long pants--now that he was growing so tall.

He also wanted a long horn to blow on New Year's night, not to men-
tion a brand new guitar.

The next morning the *Palm Queen* arrived. Captain Zeus told
the sailors that they might have been of some help had they arrived
in time to help fight the crew from the *Black Spider*, but now there
was nothing they could do. They might, if they wished, take a few

Bontemps--73

days leave in Le Cap and then bring the vessel back to Port-au-
Prince.

Soup and the Dozier boys came to the hotel bright and early and
saw that two automobiles were standing outside the gate. The Captain
and Grenny were coming down the steps, following a porter who car-
ried their bags.

"You'll have a better ride back, I hope," Captain Zeus said
pleasantly. "That second car there is yours, and the fellow at
the wheel is your driver. Come to the hotel as soon as you reach
Port-au-Prince, and I'll try to get you ready for your trip."

"What come of the <u>Black Spider</u> men?"

"The guards got them. Caught them this morning trying to get back to their vessel. They'll have to answer some pretty hard questions when they stand trial. And I hope to be there to testify against them."

"Good," Slumber said. "That's good. Now how about the treas-
ure?"

"Ah!" Captain Zeus patted his coat pocket with satisfaction.
"It's right here in my pocket. We carried the chest to the bank. They
counted it and gave me a check for the amount. Easier to carry it
this way. The government is taking about one half."

The boys smiled happily. Captain Zeus and Grenny climbed into
their car and drove away. A few minutes later Soup and the boys were
speeding over the bumpy road, too.

In the late afternoon the boys saw the southern city again. They
went to their room, opened the shutters, looked out over the trees and
the clusters of flowers and began to think of Alabama. They did not
talk much. They were too busy thinking. They were too happy for
words.

Bontemps--74

And when the plane arrived, a little before noon the next morn-
ing, the three young wanderers were ready and waiting. They wore
shoes that did not please them very well, but Slumber was willing
to put up with them till he reached home. His brothers felt the
same.

Big Soup was on hand to see the three off. Grenny and Captain
Zeus also came down to the water where the big seaplane landed. The
boys waved to their friends and went aboard. The motor roared. The
air liner skimmed over the water a little way and then rose proudly
into the air.

"Look at me, Willie," Slumber said, sitting very erect. "Tell
me how I look in a air plane."

His brothers giggled behind their hands.

"You look scared."

"Sure do," Rags agreed. "You look scared stiff."

"Wish my pappy and mammy could see me now," Slumber laughed.

"Boy, wouldn't they be surprised!"