"Pooh! Can't we see?" asked Sammy.
"No, I mean he may be burying something, instead of digging it up. He's making quite a hole."
That was something new to think about, and for a few seconds the boys watched to see if Frank's idea was right.
"Do you think he's one of the pirates?" asked Bob.
"Maybe—if there are any—but I don't believe so," answered Frank.
"Perhaps he found some of the pirate gold, and he's burying it again until he has a good chance to get rid of it. I wish we knew who he was."
At that moment the old man straightened up his bent back, and gave a sigh of relief, and also disappointment.
"Well," the boys heard him murmur, "I'll have to dig farther on. It isn't here, that's sure. I wonder if I will ever find it?"
The words seemed to strike a thrill through the Fairview boys. They looked at each other in the darkness, illuminated by the flashes of light from the lighthouse beacon, and then, as the old man picked up his lantern, and turned in their direction, they crouched down in the bushes in order to remain hidden.