“We wish ye to divide up the threasure aiqually into fourteen parts, and to give to aich man his own share, so that he may take care of it for himself. As things are now, wid all the gims lumped together in the iron chist, the timptation and the opporchunity to shteal is too great, and we’ve already lost two of our number through it.”
“Lost two of your number? Good Heavens, O’Gorman, what do you mean?” I demanded, my thoughts instantly reverting to the suspicious proceedings of the morning.
“Why,” explained O’Gorman, “it’s loike this, ye see. Whin we dug up that chist yesterday, and got it over here, we could none of us be satisfied until we’d broke it open and found out what it contained. Then, as we couldn’t fasten it up again, we decided to mount guard over it, two men at a time, so that nobody should rob the others by sneakin’ away and helpin’ himself unbeknownst. But whin the first two guards was relieved, last night, the cook took it into his head that they ought to be searched; and whin this was done, by the Powers! we found that aich of ’em had helped himself to a handful of the stones, and had ’em stowed away in their pockets. We thried ’em there and thin, found ’em guilty, and sintenced ’em to be shot! Which was done this morning.”
“So!” I exclaimed in horror, “this is the first result of your so-called good fortune, is it? A theft; and two of your number slain! Man! do you know that the fourteen of you have committed murder!”
“Murder, is it? Sorra a bit!” exclaimed the Irishman indignantly. “We thried the two of ’em, and found ’em guilty, all in regular, proper ordher.”
“But,” said I, “you have no authority or legal right to try men, sentence them to death, and execute them. Whatever you may consider it, you will find that the law will regard it as wilful murder.”
“The law?” ejaculated O’Gorman, with a contemptuous sniff. “Oh, begorra, we’ll take our chance of that! But we don’t want any more executions, Misther Conyers, so will ye help us to make a fair division of our prize, that aich man may have his own and not be tempted to shteal from another?”
“Are you making this request on your own account, or on behalf of the rest as well?” demanded I. “Perhaps the others may be unwilling to trust to my fairness.”
“Oh, but they will,” answered O’Gorman. “The proposal was mine, but iverybody agreed to it.”
“Very well, then,” said I. “I am willing to undertake the job, and will do my best to make the division an equitable one.”