Pieces of Eight | Page 6

join them willingly, 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