For Treasure Bound | Page 8

uninhabited, and, I should say, unknown;
for during my entire stay there, I never observed one solitary sign of
man's foot having ever pressed the soil. You will readily recognise the
island from the fact that it has a remarkable isolated group of seven
cocoa-nut trees growing closely together on the extreme northernmost
point of the island. The central tree of this group, and one of the others,
bears a mark (made by the removal of a piece of bark) as large as a
man's two hands. When you have identified these trees, walk away

from them, keeping them in one, until you open, clear of the trees on
the southern end of the island, a portion of the reef which you will
observe just rising above the water's edge. When you have done this,
you will be standing, as nearly as possible, immediately above the hole
in the deck of the wreck, through which I burrowed to her golden
cargo."
The Spaniard (for such I found him to be) then went on to describe the
manner in which I should find the passage through the reef into the
lagoon, giving me as much information as he could from memory of
the various dangers to be avoided. He had carefully prepared a chart of
the channel before leaving the island; but this was on board the vessel
he had just lost.
I could see that the excitement produced by so much talking was
fearfully reducing his strength, and I more than once endeavoured to
persuade him to postpone the completion of his narrative; but he was
sensible that he had but a short time to live, and so anxious was he to
give me all the information necessary to enable me to discover this
strangely buried treasure, that my endeavour to stop him did more harm
even than the talking, so I was compelled perforce to suffer him to
proceed. And though I felt it my duty to urge him not to excite himself,
I must confess that I was deeply interested to learn how I might become
possessed of the wealth to which he had referred in such glowing terms;
for since it was manifest that he could not live to enjoy it himself, and
as he had declared he had no relative in the world, I thought I might as
well become his heir.
He continued to talk for some time longer, until he had explained to me
everything he could think of which would facilitate my efforts to reach
the buried treasure; and then, with a sigh of mingled exhaustion and
relief, he closed his eyes, and seemed to sink into a half sleep, from
which he roused himself at frequent intervals, to crave the refreshment
of a draught of lemonade.
At length the sound of carriage wheels was heard; and almost
immediately afterwards Bob returned, accompanied by the Catholic
priest. The sick man opened his eyes, and feebly welcomed the good

old man who had so readily answered his appeal for spiritual
consolation. I then retired, leaving them alone to engage in the most
solemn rite appertaining to their religion.
After we had reverently laid the Spaniard to rest in his alien grave, I
gave my friend Bob a full and accurate account of all that had passed,
showing him at the same time the copious notes I had, at the earliest
opportunity, jotted down to assist and refresh my memory in case I
should ever find myself in a position to seek the hidden treasure.
CHAPTER THREE.
BOB'S PROPOSITION.
I was at this time just turned twenty-one, and had received my
education at the Royal Naval School at Greenwich, with the
understanding that I was to join my father on its completion, when he
would continue and finish what is there so well begun, thus making me
"every inch a sailor."
On leaving school I joined my father (who was master and part owner
of a fine dashing clipper), in the capacity of midshipman, and went
some six or seven voyages with him: on the last of which, or rather, a
few days after its termination, I was seized with a violent attack of
rheumatic fever, from which I had not recovered sufficiently to rejoin
the ship by the time that she was once more ready for sea. I was
consequently left at home under Ada's care (my dear mother had been
dead some years), to recover at leisure, and amuse myself as well as I
could until another voyage should be accomplished, and an opportunity
once more offered for me to repossess myself of my quarters in the old
familiar berth. That opportunity never arrived, for at the time my story
opens, my father had been two years "missing." He sailed from Canton
with the first