"That's a pity, lad. The coin might have helped us. You're sure now that you can't remember? It hadn't a couple of pillars engraved on it, for instance?"
I shook my head. I had taken no particular heed of the stamp on the coin.
Captain Branscome sighed his disappointment.
"The church plate don't help us at all," he said, "or very little. Why, I've heard this Honduras treasure dated so far back as Morgan's time, when he sacked Panama. The tale went that the priests at Panama or Chagres, or one of those places, on fright of Morgan's coming, clapped all their treasure aboard ship under a guard of militia—soldiers of some sort, anyway—and that the seamen cut the soldiers' throats, slipped cable, and away-to-go. But Morgan! He must have died before Queen Anne was born—well, not so far back as that maybe, but then or thenabouts. I tell you, ma'am, this story hangs around every port and every room where seamen gather and drink and take their ways again. 'Tis for all the world like the smell of tobacco-smoke, that tells you some one has come and gone, but leaves you nothing to get hold of. Hallo!—"
As the exclamation escaped him, Captain Branscome, who had casually picked up a corner of the parchment between finger and thumb, with a nervous jerk drew the whole chart from under my outspread palms and turned it over face-downwards.
"Eh? But see here!"
He fumbled with his glasses, while Miss Belcher and I, snatching at the chart, almost knocked our heads together as we bent over a corner of it—the left-hand upper corner—and a dozen lines of writing scrawled there in faded ink. They ran thus—
1. Landed by cuttar when wee saw a sail. Lesser Kay N. of
Gable. Get open water between two kays S.W. and W. by S.,
and N. inner point of Gable (where is green patch, good
watering) in line with white rock (birds), neer as posble.
S. a point E. 3 feet bare, being hurried.
2. Bayse of cliff second hill S.S.W. from Cape Alderman.
Here is bank over 2 waterfals. Neer lower fall, 12 paces
back from egge, getting island open N.E. beyond rock W. of
inlet, and first tree Misery Swamp over Crabtree, W.S.W Bush
above rock to rt of fall. Shaddow 1/4 to 4, June 21st, when
we left digging.
3. R. bank river, 1 and 1/2 mile up from Gow crikke. Centre
tree in clump 5 branch bearing N. and by E. 1/2 point, two
forks. R. fork 4ft. red cave under hill 457yds. foot of tree
N.N.W. N.B.—The stones here, under rock 4 spans L side.
That was all, except two short entries. The first scribbled aslant under No. 1, and in Captain Coffin's own handwriting—so Captain Branscome, who knew it, assured us.
N.B.—Took out 5 cases Ap. 5, 1806, besides the boddies.
Avging 3/4 cwt. 1 case jewels. We left the clothes, wh.
were many.