by Ross Kay
CHAPTER XVII
UNDERGROUND WORK
One day John was standing at the back of the cave looking up through theopening which was there. Here it was that the billy goat had given himsuch a fright a few weeks before. This time, however, he did not see any"white bearded old man" as he gazed up into the aperture, but he did spysomething almost equally interesting.
"Hey, Fred!" he called. "Come here a minute."
Fred hastened to respond to his friend's summons and soon reached thespot where John was standing.
"What do you want, String?" he inquired.
"Look up through that opening."
"All right," said Fred, doing as he had been directed. "I'm looking."
"Don't you see anything?"
"Sure I do. I see the sky."
"Don't be silly, Fred," exclaimed John. "In the opening, I mean."
"I see dirt."
"Is that all?"
"Absolutely. What are you trying to do, anyway?"
"About three feet this side of the other end; don't you see somethingsticking out?"
Fred squinted one eye and peered upward critically.
"Don't you see a thing?" demanded John eagerly.
"Maybe I do," replied Fred. "Is something sticking out up there?"
"That's just what I thought. What is it?"
"It looks like the end of a box."
"Just what I thought myself," exclaimed John triumphantly. "Let's getit."
"We can't reach it from this end."
"I know it. We'll have to climb up on top of the hill."
"Come on," urged Fred, now also keenly excited.
Outside the cave, Grant sat puzzling over the numbers. Most of his timehe now spent in this way, and though he was apparently no nearer asolution than when he had started, his determination was stronger thanever.
"Where are you two fellows going?" he demanded as John and Fred rushedpast the spot where he was seated.
"Just up on top of the hill," said John evasively. He and Fred haddecided not to tell any of the others of their discovery until they hadinvestigated it thoroughly themselves.
"You seem to be in an awful hurry," remarked Grant. "What's up?"
"Tell you later," answered John, and they quickly passed out of Grant'ssight. A moment more and they had arrived at the top of the openingwhich led down into the cave.
"I can't see anything from here," exclaimed John, after a hastyexamination. "The shadow of my head gets right in the way and I can'tsee a thing."
"Let me look," urged Fred, but he could make out nothing either.
"I tell you what to do," he exclaimed a moment later. "Hang onto my feetso I won't fall and get wedged in there, and then lower me into thehole."
"That's a good scheme," said John eagerly. "You're little and skinny andought to be able to get in there all right."
"Never mind the 'little and skinny' part," said Fred shortly. "You holdonto my feet."
Anyone who might have passed by that way and seen John holding fast to apair of legs sticking out of a hole in the ground would have beenpuzzled as to what was taking place. Grant's curiosity had been arousedby the strange actions of his two friends and he had followed them.Imagine his surprise to see what John and Fred were doing, but he saidnothing. He stood quietly near by and neither of his comrades was awareof his presence.
"Can you see anything, Fred?" called John.
"Not a thing," came back the muffled reply. "I can feel something,though."
"Is it a box?"
"I can't tell, I think it is."
"Can you move it?"
"I should say not. It's stuck fast."
"What do you want to do?"
"Pull me out and I'll tell you."
A moment later Fred emerged, his face covered with dirt.
"What are you two doing?" demanded Grant, who now approached the twoconspirators. "You look as though you were training to be a mole, Fred."
"There's a box down in there," said Fred. "We want to get it out."
"A box!" exclaimed Grant. "How big is it?"
"I could only feel one end of it. It's about a foot wide I should say. Idon't know how long it is for all the rest of it is buried in there."
"Couldn't you budge it?"
"Not an inch. We'll have to dig it out."
"I'll get that knife Sam made," exclaimed John. "That'll be just thething."
"Sam's up by the flag on watch," Grant called as John started off. "Ithink he has the knife with him. Who discovered the box?" he inquired,turning to Fred. Grant was now as excited as the other two boys hadbeen.
"John did," said Fred.
"How did he happen to do it?"
"Oh, he was looking up from the bottom and just happened to see it. Heshowed it to me and we came up to investigate."
"Maybe this one has the real stuff in it," said Grant excitedly.
"Maybe so," Fred agreed. "All I hope is that we can dig it out."
"I guess we can," said Grant confidently. "Here comes String now."
John came running up, out of breath, and handed the knife to Fred. "Itold Sam we had discovered a box," he panted. "Sam says that if thereare any diamond horseshoes in it they belong to him. That's the onlycondition on which he would let me have the knife."
"All right," laughed Fred. "Sam gets all the horseshoes."
"Are you going to do the digging, Fred?" asked John.
"I guess I'd better. Let me have the knife."
Holding the home-made blade in his right hand he was once again loweredinto the tunnel. John and Grant each held fast to one leg. It was hardwork for Fred for he was in comparative darkness and was compelled tofeel around to discover where to dig. It was practically impossible forhim to see anything.
"How's it coming?" called John after a few moments had elapsed.
"All right," replied Fred, his voice sounding as if it came from thecenter of the earth. "I'm spilling a lot of dirt down into the cavethough."
"Never mind that, as long as you don't lose any of the money."
"Do you really think there's any gold or anything in that box?" saidGrant.
"I'm sure I don't know," John replied. "If Pop were here he'd be sure itwas empty."
"I know it. Isn't he a regular old gloom lately?"
"He's not usually that way. At least he never used to be."
"Something has come over him since we started work on that code. Hethinks it's very silly and that we are foolish to bother with it."
"We'll surprise him one of these days," said John confidently.
"I certainly hope so," exclaimed Grant.
While Fred dug they chatted and talked of the possibilities of theirfinding some long forgotten pirate's treasure and making themselves richand famous. Almost anyone would have been as thrilled as these boys wereunder the same circumstances. Petersen's tale on board the_Josephine_ and the strange code he had had; the finding of asimilar one in the cave; the chest and the powder-horn and pistol; thequeer black rock and Sam's story in connection with it; all these eventshad combined to spur the four young adventurers on in their quest. Nowthey had discovered another odd looking box and with the hope thatsprings eternal in the human breast they were anxiously and eagerlyawaiting a chance to examine its contents.
"All right. Pull me up," came Fred's summons at last.
Slowly and carefully John and Grant lifted their companion out of thehole. Soon he emerged, the knife in one hand, the box in the other andwith so much dirt and grime that its owner was scarcely recognizable.
"You look like Sam," remarked John, hardly able to restrain his mirth atFred's appearance.
"Open the box and don't get so personal," advised Fred, wiping the dirtfrom his eyes.
Grant was already busily engaged in examining the prize his friend haddug from its place in the earth. "This one is light," he remarked. "Idon't suppose there is anything in it at all."
"Can you open it?" demanded John.
"Easily. There's only a catch on it," a
nd Grant straightway lifted thecover.
"An envelope," exclaimed Fred disappointedly. "All that work fornothing."
Grant, however, was opening the envelope and as he did so two goldpieces rolled out upon the ground. "Empty is it?" he cried. "How aboutthose?"
"Say," exclaimed John excitedly. "Just look at them. Are there anymore?"
"Just this," said Grant quietly and he spread a sheet of paper beforethe gaze of his two companions. "Do you recognize it?"
"I should know those figures in China now," said Fred disgustedly. "It'sthat same old code again."
"I know it," said Grant, "but do you see what's written across the top?"
"Sure enough," exclaimed Fred. "What does it say, anyway?"
"'This tells where the rest of it is,'" Grant read aloud.