CHAPTER V
THE CHEST OF GOLD
Ross Montgomery turned over the pages rapidly, and the boys could see anumber of accounts in a precise, methodical script.
"The first two or three years were the hardest," the strange boy wenton, "but after that the money came in fast. Father made a number ofinvestments in lumber and in fishing interests, and everything hetouched seemed to bring him luck. By the time I was six years old, hehad got enough together to pay all his debts and make him independentfor life.
"There was one funny thing about it, though. He had burned his fingersso badly in that big bank failure that he never would trust a bankagain. Every dollar he got above what he needed to use in business, hestored away in an oak chest that he kept in a secret place at home. Hehad no use for paper money either. He'd take it, of course, when hecouldn't get anything else, but the first chance he got he'd change itfor gold. Of course it was just a whim of his, but somehow it made himfeel safer. Maybe it was a little mental twist left from his siege ofbrain fever. At any rate that's the way he felt, and he kept piling upthe gold in that old chest. All sorts of money, too, English, Canadian,French and American coins. I was small then and didn't know much of thevalue of money, but I can remember once how the pieces shone when fathergathered up a handful and let the coins fall in a shower back into thechest----"
"Gee!" interrupted Teddy, "just think of it. A rain of gold!"
"I'd like to be caught out in such a shower," laughed Fred.
"And I wouldn't want any umbrella to ward it off either," added Bill.
"Cork up, you money grabbers, and let Ross go on with his story," Lesterlaughingly advised.
"It brought bad luck to father, though," said Ross soberly. "If ithadn't been for that gold he might be alive to-day."
It was the first intimation the boys had had that the lad's father wasdead, and they kept a respectful silence during the moment that followedwhile Ross seemed struggling with painful memories.
"A little over nine years ago," the boy went on at last, "fatherconcluded that he had enough on hand to settle with all his creditors,capital and interest, and still have enough left to make him independentfor life. He planned to leave mother and me--I haven't any brothers orsisters--at home, while he came down to Boston and settled the claims.Then he was going to pick out a home here and send for us to come tohim. Although he had made the money in Canada, he had always felthomesick for his own country.
"Then the question came up," continued Ross, "of how he was to get themoney down here. Of course, the safer way would have been to take it tosome Canadian bank and get a draft on Boston. But I've told you of thebitter feeling he had toward all banks, and he'd counted so long onturning over that identical gold to his creditors that he couldn't giveit up.
"We were a long distance from any large city, and the only way to travelby sea was to take some sailing vessel that stopped once in a while at atown near by. There was a good deal of smuggling going on just thenbetween Canada and this country, and as there was a big profit in it,almost all the coastwise sailing vessels took a hand in it now and then.Sometimes it would be opium that had been landed on the Pacific coastand brought over to Quebec. Then, too, there were French laces and silksand wines.
"Of course it was illegal, but lots of people couldn't see much harm init. You know how it is with people that come over from Europe to NewYork. A vast number of them try to get things in without paying duty andthey think it's rather smart to get the best of Uncle Sam. Many who arehonorable in every other way seem to lose that feeling when it comes tosmuggling.
"Of course it's wrong, as everything is wrong that breaks the law,whether we think the law is just or not. But I'm just saying this toexplain why father was willing to trust himself and his gold on board asmuggler."
The boys bent forward eagerly.
"For that's what he did," continued Ross. "There was a schooner, namedthe _Ranger_, that often stopped at the river town near where welived. The captain was a man, Ramsay by name, whom father knew andtrusted. His boat did a good deal of legitimate trading, but sandwichedin with that was quite a lot of smuggling off and on. Still, aside fromthat, Captain Ramsay had the reputation of being a strictly honest man,and he and father had been on friendly terms for years.
"When the time came, father went on board with all his baggage,including the chest of gold. Of course he did not take any one in thesecret of what the chest contained. He figured on getting to Boston in aweek or ten days.
"But the second day out, a tackle block fell from the foremast and laidCaptain Ramsay dead on the deck. He was buried at sea and the first matetook command of the schooner. And it was right here that the troublebegan.
"This first mate was a Portuguese, a good sailor, but aside from that Iguess he was as big a villain as ever went unhung. There were fiveothers in the crew, and they didn't seem to be much better than themate. Captain Ramsay had been a rough captain and had been able to holdthe men down, but as soon as he had gone things began to happen."
There was a pause for a moment while the boys held their breath waitingfor the story to go on.
"And," resumed Ross, impressively, "I'd give my right hand to know justwhat those things were."
His hearers sat for a moment stunned and bewildered by this suddenending.
"What!" gasped Teddy. "Do you mean that you don't know what happened?"
"No," was the reply. "I don't _know_. From what I've been able tolearn I can make a pretty good guess. All I _know_ is that myfather was picked up a week later in an open boat, wounded and starvingand delirious."
A gasp of wonder and pity ran around the little circle.
"From a letter found in his pocket they learned who he was, and after hehad partially recovered they sent him home to us," Ross went on. "Butfrom then to the day of his death, which took place a year later, he wasinsane."
"The scoundrels!" muttered Fred, clenching his fists in indignation.
"We tried to get at the facts by piecing together what he said when hewas quieter than usual," Ross continued. "Again and again, he wouldspeak of 'the lighthouse' and 'Bartanet Shoals.' Then he would imaginehimself in a fight with the mate. Many times he spoke of 'burying thebox.'
"All these of course were slight things to go on, but by putting themall together and looking at them from every side, we figured outsomething like this:
"The mate probably had his suspicions aroused by the weight of the boxthat held the gold. Father must have come upon him when he was trying toopen it, and there was a fight in which the rest of the crew joined.They were probably somewhere near Bartanet Shoals when this happened,and they put in at some quiet place along here to think over what they'dbetter do. They finally decided to bury the box and leave it there untilthe matter should have blown over and been forgotten. The men probablyintended to put father out of the way, and, after the search for him hadbeen given up, to come back and get the box. Father either tried toescape in the open boat, or the crew, not quite willing to kill him incold blood, set him adrift, knowing that in his wounded condition itwould probably amount to the same thing."
"Didn't the _Ranger_ ever turn up?" asked Fred.
"Not at any of the home towns," answered Ross. "But some months later itwas found tied up to a wharf near Halifax. It was from the log theyfound on board that they learned of Captain Ramsay's death. The crewwere traced, and it was found that they had shipped on a brig that wasbound for the Pacific. She went down in a storm off Cape Horn, and everysoul on board was lost."
"Then everybody who was actually concerned in the matter is probablydead," mused Lester.
"Yes," answered Ross, "we can't look for any help from human witnesses.There's a bare chance that some letter or document may turn up that willgive us a clue. But that's so unlikely that it's hardly worthconsidering."
"Then all you have to go on is the possibility that the box was buriedsomewhere on this coast not very far from Bartanet Shoals, and that ifit was, it's never been taken away?" as
ked Bill.
"That's all," admitted Ross, "except----"
He checked himself hastily.
The Rushton Boys at Treasure Cove; Or, The Missing Chest of Gold Page 5