Pieces of Eight | Page 6

but we would not,
when they became enraged and loaded three cannon and lashed each
one of us before the mouth of each cannon and told us to take our
choice to join them, as they would touch the guns and that dam quick.
It is useless to say we accepted everything before death, so we came
one of the pirates' crew. Both of my companions were killed in less
time than six months, but I was with them for more than two years, in
which time we collected a vast quantity of money from different ships
we captured and we buried a great amount in two different lots. I
helped to bury it with my own hands. The location of which it is my
purpose to point out, so that it can be found without trouble in the
Bahama Islands. After I had been with them for more than two years,
we were attacked by a large warship and our commander told us to
fight for our lives, as it would be death if we were taken. But the guns
of our ship were too small for the warship, so our ship soon began to
sink, when the man-of-war ran alongside of our vessel and tried to bore
us, but we were sinking too fast, so she had to haul off again, when our
vessel sunk with everything on board, and I escaped by swimming
under the stern of the ship, as ours sunk, without being seen, and
holding on to the ship until dark, when I swam to a portion of the
wrecked vessel floating not far away. And on that I floated. The next
morning the ship was not seen. I was picked up by a passing vessel the
next day as a shipwrecked seaman._
_"And let me say here, I know that no one escaped alive from our
vessel except myself and those that were taken by the man-of-war. And
those were all executed as pirates,--so I know that no other man knows
of this treasure except myself and it must be and is where we buried it
until to-day and unless you get it through this statement it will remain
there always and do no one any good._
_"Therefore, it is your duty to trace it up and get it for your own benefit,
as well as others, so delay not, but act as soon as possible._
_"I will now describe the places, locations, marks etc., etc., so plainly
that it can be found, without any trouble._

"The first is a sum of one million and a half dollars--($1,500,000)--"
At this point, John paused. We all took a long breath, and Charlie
Webster gave a soft whistle, and smacked his lips.
"A million and a half dollars. What ho!"
Then I, happening to cast my eye through the open door, caught sight
of a face gazing through the ironwork of the outer office with a fixed
and glittering expression, a face anything but prepossessing, the face of
a half-breed, deeply pock-marked, with a coarse hook nose, and
evil-looking eyes, unnaturally close together. He looked for all the
world like a turkey buzzard, eagerly hanging over offal, and it was
evident from his expression, that he had not missed a word of the
reading.
"There is some one in the outer office," I said, and John rose and went
out.
"Good morning, Mr. Saunders," said an unpleasantly soft and cringing
voice.
"Good morning," said John, somewhat grumpily, "what is it you want?"
It was some detail of account, which, being despatched, the man
shuffled off, with evident reluctance, casting a long inquisitive look at
us seated at the desk, and John, taking up the manuscript once more
resumed:
_"... a sum of one million and one half dollars--buried at a cay known
as Dead Men's Shoes, near Nassau, in the Bahama Islands."_
"'Dead Men's Shoes!' I don't know any such place, do you?" interrupted
Charlie.
"No, I don't--but, never mind, let's read it through first and discuss it
afterwards," and John went on:
_"Buried at a cay known as Dead Men's Shoes, near Nassau, in the

Bahama Islands; about fifty feet (50 ft.) south of this Dead Men's Shoes
is a rock, on which we cut the form of a compass. And twenty feet (20
ft.) East from the cay is another rock on which we cut a cross (X).
Under this rock it is buried four feet (4 ft.) deep._
_"The other is a sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000). It is buried on
what was known as Short Shrift Island; on the highest point of this
Short Shrift Island is a large cabbage wood stump and twenty feet (20
ft.) south of that stump is the treasure, buried five feet (5 ft.) deep and
can be