For Treasure Bound | Page 7

I would return the
next day and ascertain whether what I saw was merely a detached piece

of wreck, or whether the entire hull lay there embedded in the sand.
"The next morning I repaired to the spot, armed with a primitive
substitute for a shovel, which I had contrived to manufacture, and an
iron bolt, to serve the purpose of a crow-bar, which I had procured the
previous night by burning it out of a piece of wreck. I had worked for
perhaps an hour, when I reached some planking, which I immediately
recognised as the deck of the ship. This I proceeded to clear of sand,
uncovering the deck in an extending circle from the spot where I had
first encountered it, until I had an area of about fifteen or sixteen feet
laid bare. And now I met with a breach in the deck; so instead of
clearing away further, I began to dig down again. I toiled thus for four
days, senor; by which time I had discovered that the wreck was that of
a small vessel, of perhaps one hundred and thirty tons (though, small as
she was, she had been built with a full poop); that she was a very
ancient craft indeed; and that her cargo consisted of nothing but gold,
senor, that is, with the solitary exception of a strong wooden box
(which, even after so long an interment, offered considerable resistance
to my efforts to open it), containing an assortment of what I took to be
pebbles of different kinds, but which I afterwards found were
unpolished gems. Yes, senor; there lay the gold in ingots, each wrapped
in matting, and each ingot as much in weight as I could well lift. The
matting was decayed in the first three or four tiers, and the metal
discoloured almost to blackness; but towards the centre of the cargo
(which is, probably, not more than twelve tiers deep altogether), the
matting, though so rotten that it crumbled to dust as I touched it, had
preserved the colour of the metal; and there it lay, bar after bar,
gleaming with the dull yellow lustre peculiar to virgin gold.
"I ballasted my boat entirely with ingots; selecting the most discoloured
I could reach, so that they might be less easily recognisable as gold,
and the risk I ran of being ultimately robbed of them reduced in the
same proportion. I also took a few of the pebbles (as I thought them)
out of the box; after which I set to work to cover in the whole once
more. I completed my task by burning down the timbers which had at
first attracted my attention (and which I found were a portion of her
stern frame), so that nothing remained above the surface of the sand to

betray the whereabouts of my treasure. I then carefully marked the spot
in such a manner that I could find it again; and completed my
preparations for departure with all speed.
"I had been at sea ten days, when I was taken ill. Whether it was the
effect of excitement or exposure I know not; but I fell into a raging
fever, which left me almost at the point of death. I was so weak that I
had not strength to crawl to the water-cask; and the feeble efforts I
made to reach it so exhausted me that at length I fell in a swoon to the
bottom of the boat. In this condition I was discovered by a passing ship,
the crew of which took me on board; but, as a smart breeze happened to
be blowing at the time, they would not wait to hoist in my boat; and she
was set adrift with enough gold on board her to have purchased a
principality.
"Regrets were useless, and the loss, heavy as it was, troubled me little; I
knew where to find sufficient to satisfy my utmost needs. At length I
reached home, and, by the merest accident, bethought myself one day
of my pebbles. I suspected they were valuable, or they would not have
been found where they were. Judge of my surprise when I learned that
the four I had left (for I lost the rest somewhere) were worth a
sufficient sum to enable me to do exactly what I wished; viz., buy a
ship of my own. I did so; and was on my way in her to my treasure-
island, when the gale sprung up which has reduced me to my present
condition.
"And now, senor, I am about to put you in possession of such
information as will enable you to find my island. It is in latitude
about--South, and in longitude about--West, as nearly as I had the
means of ascertaining; and is