CHAPTER XXIX
TREASURE COVE
With a finger that he vainly tried to keep steady, Teddy pointed to arough tracing on the wall at the left side of the forecastle.
It took a moment to accustom their eyes to the dim light of the place,then their vision cleared and the boys could make out the details of amap similar to the one which the old sailor had described to Ross.
There were two clumps, one consisting of two and the other of threetrees, at a little distance in from the beach. To the right was a hugerock that rose like some giant sentinel and seemed to mark the entranceto a bay or cove. A series of waving lines appeared to indicate thewater, and a more heavily shaded part was evidently meant to denote theland. There was no artistic element in the drawing, but just then theboys would not have exchanged the rough scrawl of that knife blade for apainting by Titian or Raphael.
"Glory, hallelujah!" shouted Teddy, who had by this time recovered hispower of speech.
"Eureka!" cried Lester.
"We've found it," translated Fred.
"Joy!" exulted Bill, his habitual caution swept away in the flood of hisexcitement.
Ross alone said nothing, though his trembling hands and moistened eyesbetrayed the depth of his emotion. To the Rally Hall boys this meant atremendous step forward, they hoped, toward the achievement of theirambition. It meant all that, too, to Ross, but it meant much more. Hewas on the spot where his father had been foully assaulted and broughtto his death. Somewhere in this ship there had been the scuffling offeet and the thud of a deadly weapon, as his father had fought for hisproperty and his life.
The other boys were quick to recognize his feeling, and with the truecourtesy that marked them, they strove to restrain their exultation fora time, and to talk among themselves until Ross should have had time toget a grip on himself.
Bill, as usual, was the first to put a brake on their optimism andsubdue their enthusiasm by questioning cautiously the real value oftheir discovery.
"It's splendid, of course," he ventured to suggest, "but, after all,what does it give us that we didn't already know? To be sure, it showsthat the sailor was telling the truth. But there doesn't seem to beanything in the map that he hadn't already described."
"That's so," admitted Teddy, his enthusiasm a little dampened.
"Don't be too sure that there's nothing else," said Fred. "It's so darkin here that we can't see anything but the rough outlines. Who has somematches?"
"Here you are," replied Lester, producing an oilskin pouch from aninside pocket.
Fred struck one, and as it flared up, five eager pairs of eyes scannedthe wall in front.
But while it brought into greater distinctness the main features thatthey had already seen, the map seemed to reveal nothing more and therewas a general sigh of disappointment.
"Why didn't that fellow go a little further while he was about it?"groaned Teddy.
"If he had only told us not only what it looked like, but where it was,"mourned Lester.
"It's maddening to get so close and yet miss the one thing that wouldclear it all up," complained Bill.
"I can understand now how Tom Bixby felt, when Dick was just on thepoint of telling him where the gold was hidden," said Lester.
"I'm not giving it up yet," declared Fred with determination, "and I'llnot, until I have used up every match we have with us. Even after that,I'll get a torch somewhere and keep on looking."
But several more matches struck in quick succession were of no morevalue than the first, and the boys' hearts went down.
Just as the fifth match was burning low, Bill gave utterance to a sharpexclamation.
"I saw something down in the corner that time," he declared. "It lookedlike figures of some kind."
The boys had a deep belief in Bill's sharp eyes, and it was with renewedhope that Fred struck another of the precious matches and held it withfingers that trembled.
"I was right!" exulted Bill. "See there," and he pointed to somescarcely legible marks in the lower right-hand corner.
"They're figures, all right," he confirmed. "I can make out a 'four' anda 'seven' and, yes, a 'six.' But they're very faint and I can't makesense of them."
"Try again, Bill," begged Teddy.
"Wait a minute," cried Ross. "I've got a small magnifying glass in thecabin of the _Sleuth_. I'll get it in a second."
"That's the stuff!" gloated Fred. "Now, we'll make it out, sure."
It was less than two minutes, but it seemed a long time to theimpatient boys before Ross dropped into the forecastle, holding a smallbut powerful convex glass.
Bill snatched it eagerly and held it in front of the faintly outlinedfigures.
"All over but the shouting!" he jubilated. "Take them down, you fellows,while I read them aloud to you."
Three pencils were all the boys could muster, but these fairly leapedfrom their pockets.
"I don't know what they mean," was Bill's prelude, "but here they are.Forty-four, then a space, then thirty-two. That's what's on the firstline. Then under that is another lot, sixty-seven, then a space, thenforty-one."
"Hurrah!" yelled Lester, jumping up and clicking his heels together."Latitude! Longitude! We'll find it now!"
"Do you think that's what the figures mean?" inquired Bill, his cautionstill in evidence.
"I don't think at all, I _know_," jubilated Lester. "It meanslongitude sixty-seven degrees forty-one minutes, and latitude forty-fourdegrees and thirty-two minutes. Look again and see if there's anythingabout seconds."
But further search failed to reveal anything more than had already beendetected.
"Never mind, that's near enough," concluded Lester. "That will give itto us within a few miles, and it's up to us to find the exact spot."
"Have you got the instruments to take the observations with and find outjust where the spot is?" asked Teddy.
"Sure I have," was the answer. "I've a sextant stowed away in a lockeron board the _Ariel_ and father has shown me how to use it."
"I have one, too," put in Ross.
"So much the better. We can take independent observations and thencompare them. But come along, boys. We're on the right trail at last."
They all hastened out of the forecastle, wildly excited by this latestand most important clue.
It was the work of only a moment to throw off the lines, and the boatswere off at the fastest speed of which they were capable. Teddy had goneaboard the _Sleuth_, so as to run the boat while Ross took hisobservations, and the other boys took the _Ariel_ off Lester'shands for the same purpose.
In a few minutes this had been done, and the boats ran alongside eachother, so that the skippers could compare notes.
"It's somewhere within five miles from here," declared Lester, at theend of the conference. "Now, fellows, keep your eyes peeled for thefirst big rock you see standing at the right of any opening and we'llput in there so quick it will make your heads swim."
"Trust us to keep a close watch," said Fred emphatically. "We won't letany guilty rock escape."
"You bet we won't!" echoed Bill.
Their excitement chased away from the boys' minds any idea of getting aregular meal, and they contented themselves with hasty bites of whateverwas found at hand, while they kept their eyes glued to the irregularcoast line.
It was late in the afternoon when a shout came from Bill.
"There's a big rock, the biggest that we've seen," he cried, pointing tothe right.
Both boats turned in the direction indicated. Ross, in his eagerness,made his engine hum and came first in sight of a cove that opened outbeyond the rock, and a shout went up that thrilled the hearts of thosein the _Ariel_ ploughing on behind.
"Here it is!" yelled Teddy exultingly. "Three trees standing togetherand two more a hundred feet away. Now for the chest of gold!"
CHAPTER XXX
A DISCOVERY--CONCLUSION
As the boys were unfamiliar with this part of the coast, and did notknow what depth of water they might ex
pect to find, they had to moderatetheir speed, a tantalizing proceeding when every impulse prompted themto rush ashore.
However, "better to be safe than sorry," was the maxim that had beendinned into Lester by his father, and despite the urgings of the others,he felt his way, foot by foot, until he found a good place to dropanchor a hundred feet from shore. Ross followed suit. Then they packedthe supplies and implements they had brought into the small boat, androwed to the beach. Several trips were necessary, but at last everythingwas safely landed, just on the verge of dusk.
"Oh, if it were only morning!" groaned Teddy.
"We can't do much more than take a look around to-night, for a fact,"said Fred. "Perhaps it's just as well, though, that we have time to resta little before we tackle the job."
"It'll be a man-sized job, all right," warned Bill.
"But we'll have a week to do it in if necessary," said Lester. "And whatwe won't know about this place in a week won't be worth knowing."
"What's the name of this place, anyway?" asked Fred.
"I don't know that it has any name," was the reply.
"Suppose we christen it, then. What's the matter with calling itTreasure Cove?"
The suggestion met with unanimous approval, and all hoped that what theyshould find would justify the name.
In the waning light the boys examined curiously the five trees that hadhelped them to locate the place. But there was nothing cut into the barkthat gave them any clue. Nor were there any hollow places in any of themthat were large enough to contain the box they sought.
"Well," said Fred, as they retraced their steps to the sheltered placethey had picked out as a camping spot, "we can't do any more to-night.But I think we can be well content to call it a day's work and let it goat that."
"Think of the difference between the way we felt this morning and theway we're feeling now!" exulted Teddy. "Then we didn't know that we'dever get within a hundred miles of it. Now, we may be within a hundredfeet of it for all we know."
Now that the strain of the chase for the Cove was over, the boys'appetites returned, and were all the keener because of the abstinencethrough the day. The lads set to work at once and in less than half anhour they had a steaming, savory meal prepared in the best style knownto Lester and Bill, who were the acknowledged leaders in the culinaryline. They ate as only hungry, healthy boys can eat, with digestionsthat asked no odds of any ostrich. Not until the last crumb had vanisheddid they settle back with a feeling of absolute physical content.
For an hour or more afterward, they sat around the blazing fire they hadmade, discussing eagerly ways and means for the morrow's search. All ofthem were keyed up to the highest pitch. They had no definite plansexcept to hunt and dig until their strength gave out, but there was notone of them, even including cautious Bill, who did not feel sure thatvictory was within their grasp.
They found it hard to get to sleep, but nature would not be denied andthey did sleep at last, to be awakened at the first sign of dawn.
They made a hasty breakfast and then got out their picks and spades, ofwhich they had brought enough along for each member of the party. Therewas no shirking or holding back. They were like so many young houndseager to slip from the leash when the signal should be given.
"Suppose we divide the space within easy reach from the shore into fiveseparate sections," suggested Fred. "Each of us can take one and go overit a foot at a time, as though he were looking for a needle that he haddropped. If there's any opening that might lead to a cave or any placewhere the ground's heaped up as if something had been buried there, thenwe'll all go to that spot and dig."
But half the morning spent in this way showed nothing that was at allunusual.
"Nothing doing on the first try, but we can't expect to win the game inthe first inning," said Fred cheerily. "Now, what's next?"
"I tell you what," suggested Teddy. "Perhaps these trees have somethingto do with it. Isn't it natural to think that if they buried it in theearth at all, they'd do it somewhere on a line between the two clumps?Let's draw a straight line from one clump to the other and dig alongthat line."
"That's a good idea," said Lester approvingly. "But instead of startingat one end and digging up every foot of the way, what's the matter withdividing it into lengths of ten spaces each and digging at those points?Wouldn't the minds of those men work in that way? Instead of choosingdistances of seven feet, nineteen feet, twenty-three feet, wouldn't theyfirst think of ten, twenty, thirty and so on? It's the simplest way, andthey were rough, simple-minded men."
"Lester, you're a dandy," laughed Bill. "We'll have you elected aprofessor at Rally Hall for the first vacancy."
But though the plan was good, it yielded no results up to the time theboys stopped work at noon to eat and rest.
They were not depressed, but it was only natural that their failureshould have taken some of the fine edge off their first elation. Intothe mind of each had crept the hint of the smuggler that the gold wasnot buried, but hidden. They did not accept this as conclusive, but ithelped somewhat to dampen their enthusiasm.
"I'm hot and tired," remarked Teddy, after they had eaten dinner, "andI'm going in for a swim before I start in again."
A moment later he was in the water and the others were not long infollowing his example. All were good swimmers and they sported aboutindulging in all sorts of fancy practices.
"How far can you fetch under water, Teddy?" called out Bill.
"Watch me," said Teddy, drawing in a long breath and plunging beneaththe surface.
He swam with all the vigor of his sturdy young arms, helped by thecurrent that was running strongly with him. He stayed under until hislungs felt as though they were bursting and he was forced to come up.
He was astonished to find himself in an atmosphere of twilight insteadof the brilliant sunshine he expected. His first thought was that thesun had gone under a cloud. He shook the water from his eyes and lookedup.
He could see neither sun nor sky!
For a moment panic seized him. Then he pulled himself together. He couldhear the shouts of his companions, alarmed because they had not seen himcome up.
"I'm all right," he shouted, to quiet their fears. Then he looked aroundhim and realized what had happened.
He had passed under a projecting shelf of rock into what seemed to be acave. The water was shallow and he found that he could stand on thesandy bottom.
His first feeling was that of relief. His second was one of amusement atthe involuntary trick he had played on his mates. His third came to himso suddenly that it nearly took him off his feet.
What was it that Mr. Montgomery had said? "_It's where the water'scoming in._" In a moment of sanity, had the robbed and wounded manseen the place where the robbers had hidden his money?
"It's where the water's coming in."
With legs that trembled, Teddy waded forward. He soon struck dry ground.He went up a slight slope, feeling his way until he was above high-watermark. He felt rough ledges as he steadied himself against the rough sideof the cave and suddenly a shock went through him that thrilled him tothe finger tips.
On a ledge at the right, his hand rested on a box! He tried to lift it.It was too heavy.
He turned and raced for the entrance, plunged into the water andreappeared among his comrades.
"I've found it! I've found it!" he sputtered incoherently.
"Found what?" they yelled in chorus, already anticipating the answer.
"The money!" he repeated. "Ross' money! I've found the chest of gold!"
None of them could remember very clearly just what followed. Like somany young otters the other boys swam after Teddy. They brought thechest to the water's edge, and got it into the boat that Bill had swumback to fetch. They reached the beach, broke open the rusted lock withblows of a pick, and there before them in the sunlight was the gold.Golden sovereigns, golden eagles, golden twenty-franc pieces, gold thatgleamed, gold that dazzled, gold that mirrored back their own delightedfaces! A grea
t wrong had been righted, and their persistent search hadbeen crowned with a glorious success.
There were three triumphal journeys during the days that followed. Thefirst was to Oakland, where a widow wept happy tears because herhusband's name was to stand clear before the world and her son's futurewas provided for. The second was to Bartanet Shoals, where the kindlykeeper of the lighthouse had his part in the general jubilee. The third,and to the Rushton boys the most important of all, was to Oldtown, whereRoss, who accompanied Fred and Teddy, had the proud delight of puttinginto the hands of Mr. Aaron Rushton the gold that paid his father'sdebt.
"I wonder what Uncle Aaron will say when he finds out the money has beenfound," remarked Teddy, when the three youths were on the way toOldtown.
"I'll wager he'll hardly be able to believe his ears and eyes," returnedFred.
During the journey Ross was unusually thoughtful. His eyes showed hisdeep delight over the mission he had undertaken.
"You can't realize what this means to me," he said to the Rushton boyswith much feeling. "It has taken a wonderful load off my shoulders."
"Take it from me, Teddy and I feel just as happy as you do, Ross,"responded Fred affectionately.
"I'm mighty glad that I took that swim," remarked Teddy, with somethingof a grin. "It was worth while, wasn't it?"
"The most wonderful swim in the whole world!" declared Ross,emphatically.
"Say! I'd like to take a swim like that again and find anothertreasure," continued the fun-loving Rushton boy.
When the Rushtons arrived at their home they found that their parentshad gone out on a short errand. Their Uncle Aaron, however, was on hand,sitting in the library reading a book.
"Well, well! Home again, eh?" said their uncle, looking at the boys.Then he gazed questioningly at Ross.
"This is Ross Montgomery," said Fred, by way of introduction. "Ross,this is my Uncle Aaron."
"Hum!" came from Uncle Aaron. He gazed fixedly at the youth, who wassmiling broadly. "You look rather happy."
"Yes, Mr. Rushton, I suppose I do, for I never felt happier in my life,"returned Ross. "We've got good news."
"The lost treasure has been found!" burst out Teddy, unable to controlhimself. "Every dollar of it, Uncle Aaron! What do you think of that?"
"Found!" repeated the man. "Do you really mean it?"
"Yes, Uncle Aaron, it's true. The lost Montgomery fortune has beenfound," added Fred.
"And I am here to pay you all that is coming to you," announced Ross.
The picture that Uncle Aaron presented at that moment was one that histwo nephews were likely never to forget. He stood as if transfixed tothe spot, while his eyes grew larger and larger. He clutched the back ofhis chair as if to support himself.
"What is that I hear?" he demanded, in a strangely unnatural voice. "Youhave come to pay me back all that money?"
"Yes, Mr. Rushton, every cent of it."
"And he's going to pay it to you in gold, too," added Teddy eagerly.
"Well! Well! Well!" murmured the man. "I--I can scarcely believe it.Why, boys, this is wonderful news!" he continued, warming up. "Got everybit of the money, have you? Well now, isn't that wonderful!" His facebegan to beam. "And so you've come to pay me what is due me, have you?Very fine of you, young man! Very fine, indeed!"
Thereupon Uncle Aaron sunk back in his chair and demanded that the threeyouths give him all the particulars of the finding of the treasure. Theywere in the midst of a graphic recital of these happenings when Mr. andMrs. Rushton arrived.
"Hullo!" cried the boys' father. "I hardly expected to see you yet."
"Oh, we've found the treasure! We've found the treasure!" burst outTeddy, rushing up to shake hands with his father and then to hug hismother.
"Teddy, Teddy, don't crush me to death!" panted Mrs. Rushton, as theyouth drew her closer and closer. "Why, I declare, I can't breathe!"
"But isn't it grand news?" cried the elated boy.
"Indeed it is!"
"This is Ross Montgomery, father," said Fred. "He, you know, is theowner of the treasure."
"And so you actually found it?" returned the father, with a smile ofsatisfaction. "I didn't think you'd be able to do it."
"Wonderful boys! Wonderful boys!" murmured Uncle Aaron. "When they firstcame in and told me, I thought they were putting up some sort of job onme. Say! It isn't a joke, is it?" he queried quickly and with suddensuspicion.
"You don't think we'd play a joke like that, do you?" demanded Teddy.
"Well, I've known you to play some pretty hard jokes," said their uncledryly. "But never mind that now, my boy," he continued, almostaffectionately. "I'll forgive you for all of 'em, now that this moneyhas come to light. I had about made up my mind that I'd never see a centof it."
"You'll have to tell us all the particulars," said Mr. Rushton.
"That is just what we had started to do when you came in," answeredRoss.
"Teddy is the hero of this story," broke in Fred. "He's the one whofound the box that contained the gold pieces."
"Oh, come now! Don't put it that way," returned Teddy modestly. "We allhad a hand in finding that box. Didn't we all search for it day in andday out?"
"Never mind, you are the one who really found it, and you ought to havethe credit," said his brother firmly.
"That's right!" broke in Ross. "If Teddy hadn't made that wonderful diveand come up into the cave, that box might still be where it was."
"It is queer to me that some one else didn't find it in all theseyears," was Fred's comment.
"Well, I'm mighty glad somebody else didn't find the money box!" criedUncle Aaron. "But go ahead and tell the story. I want to hear every wordof it."
"All right, then," answered Ross. And sitting down with the others hetold his tale in full, aided by Fred and Teddy.
It goes without saying that the older Rushtons were tremendouslyinterested in the recital. When Mrs. Rushton heard how Teddy had madehis wonderful dive she shuddered.
"Oh, my son, what a risk to take!" she murmured. "What if you had nevercome up to the surface again!"
"Oh, don't worry, Momsey," he answered affectionately. "I know how totake care of myself."
"I'll wager that the folks at Bartanet Shoals were surprised to hear thenews," was Mr. Rushton's comment.
"Yes, indeed," answered Fred.
"But you should have seen my mother when she heard the great tidings,"came from Ross, and his voice choked a little when he spoke. "Why shewas the happiest woman in the whole world!"
"I have no doubt of it," answered Mrs. Rushton, "and she had good causefor her happiness."
That their parents were proud of the part that Fred and Teddy had playedin the finding, goes without saying. Their Uncle Aaron was so delightedthat he gladly wiped off the slate all his past grievances against hisnephews. He even went so far as to claim some share in what they haddone.
"Wasn't it through me they went to Rally Hall?" he demanded. "If theyhadn't gone there, they wouldn't have met Lester or gone to BartanetShoals, and I'd have been twelve thousand dollars to the bad."
Ross had insisted on a share of the recovered money going to the Rushtonboys and Lester. The friendship between the boys had grown very strongand they were delighted when in answer to their urging, Ross agreed togo with them to Rally Hall. They little knew at the time that they weredestined to take part in fresh and stirring adventures before the fallterm was over.
"Well," remarked Fred, when he was talking it all over with his brother,"we've had some exciting times together, but this has been ahead ofanything yet!"
"Yes," agreed Teddy, "but I have a feeling that we're in for somethingbetter yet when we get back to Rally Hall."
And here let us say good-bye to the Rushton boys.
THE END
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The Rushton Boys at Treasure Cove; Or, The Missing Chest of Gold Page 29