Shirley raised his head, but still kept his eyes on the treasure beneath him, and swore worse than before. The captain was shocked.
"What is the matter with you?" said he. "Give me the lantern. I don't see anything to swear at."
Shirley did not hand him the lantern, but the captain took it from him, and then he saw that the man was very pale.
"Look out!" he cried. "You'll slip down and break your bones."
In fact, Shirley's strength seemed to have forsaken him, and he was on the point of either slipping down the side of the mound or tumbling into the open cavity. The captain put down the lantern and moved quickly to his side, and, with some difficulty, managed to get him safely to the ground. He seated him with his back against the mound, and then, while he was unscrewing the top of a whiskey flask, Shirley began to swear again in a most violent and rapid way.
"He has gone mad," thought the captain. "The sight of all that gold has crazed him."
"Stop that," he said to the other, "and take a drink."
Shirley broke off a string of oaths in the middle, and took a pull at the flask. This was of service to him, for he sat quiet for a minute or two, during which time the captain brought down the lantern. Looking up at him, Shirley said in a weak voice:
"Captain, is what I saw all so?"
"Yes," was the reply, "it's all so."