“It was fully insured,” Osborne explained. “I didn’t think Clay was likely to make such desperate efforts for the benefit of the underwriters; and he was not acting a part, because when the slant of floor got steeper and we were warned to come out before she slipped off the reef, he shouted reckless offers of money to the men to encourage them to keep on. We might have broken through if we had had a few more minutes, though the strong-room must have been already flooded, but the lamp fell as she reeled when a roller struck her, and we were left in darkness with the water washing about our feet. It drove us out and she was obviously going down when we waded across the after-deck. A boat lay under the quarter, but it was swept clear as soon as I dropped on board, and as we lurched away on the long swell there was a heavy crash. Then a blue light flared up and showed us other boats, and only half the wreck left, looming black amid spouting foam.
“It seemed that nobody had been left behind, and those who could row took the oars in turns through the dreary night. In the darkness we missed an island which lay not far off, and it was two days later when we landed on a desolate mainland beach. We were there a fortnight, living, for the most part, on shellfish, and then, fortunately, a Canadian sealing schooner ran into a neighboring inlet for water. She took us on board, and, as we filled her up, it was a relief when she transferred us to a wooden propeller off the northern end of Vancouver Island.”
“Then the gold was lost?”
“All that was in the strong-room; the miners saved most of theirs. Nobody was blamed for the wreck, the underwriters paid, and when a salvage expedition failed to recover anything, there was an end of the matter. The gold lies at the bottom of the sea, and though I don’t know that I’m superstitious, I think that’s the best place for it. From the beginning, it brought nobody luck.”
“It had a tragic story,” Ruth agreed. “I wonder what would happen if somebody fished it up?”
Osborne laughed.
“There’s not much fear of that. The wreck must have slipped off the reef soon after we left, because the salvage people found both halves of her in deep water; but the strong tides and the bad weather prevented them from working and they declared that she would be buried in the sand before another attempt could be made.”
He turned to her with a smile in his eyes.
“Now, little girl,” he said, “you know all about it, and I hope you’re satisfied.”
“I found it very interesting,” Ruth replied with a thoughtful air. “In reality, it was the insurance payment that gave you a start?”