Our return journey was effected by a somewhat shorter route than that which we had followed on our outward way, and eventually we hit upon a ravine down which brawled a small stream of deliciously sweet crystal-clear water, following which we came out upon the margin of the basin at the point where Rogers and his party were working. Despite the intense heat and a perfect plague of mosquitoes the fellows were toiling as if for life, and had already succeeded in clearing a line of fully a hundred feet in length. I critically examined their work, pronounced it all right, and we then went on to the islet, Sir Edgar and I discussing by the way the distracting question of how the crew were to be dealt with in the event of our finding the treasure. The question seemed to resolve itself into this—that the men must either be taken away in the ship, or left on the island; and if the former, they would certainly have to be taken as prisoners, since, if free, they would assuredly seize the ship, even if they had to murder me in order to accomplish their purpose. As prisoners, however, they would be worse than useless; they would be a continual menace and source of anxiety. Sir Edgar consequently agreed with me that I should be fully justified in leaving them—or, at all events, the worst of them—behind; and this I at length determined to do; watching my opportunity to divide them up into small parties, upon some pretext, and making prisoners of them in detail; thus minimising the risk of a fight and its too probable accompaniment, loss of life. There would be no likelihood whatever of the rascals starving in such a land of plenty as the island had proved to be; they could not possibly suffer any very serious discomfort in so genial a climate; and, the treasure once secured, it would be no difficult matter to arrange for their speedy rescue. This matter settled, I felt somewhat easier in my mind, and now only required an opportunity to discuss and arrange the details with Forbes and Joe.
On reaching the islet we found that here, too, wonderful progress had been made, the party under Forbes having already cleared a line through the scrub of very nearly four hundred feet in length. This was due to the fact that they had hitherto encountered no trees in the actual line of their work, though several had been very narrowly missed. It was apparent, however, that on the morrow they would be less fortunate; for which I was by no means sorry, as it would lengthen the duration of the work, and afford me a better opportunity for completing my plans. That same evening, after dinner, Forbes, Sir Edgar, and I discussed the matter in detail, and finally completed certain arrangements that appeared to us to promise a fairly satisfactory solution of the whole difficulty. On the following day I found an opportunity to communicate to Joe the pith of these arrangements—which were to be put into operation as soon as ever the treasure, if found, should be safely placed on board the barque—and he cheerfully undertook to maintain a constant watch for my signals, and to be ready for action whenever I should make them.
The next three days passed uneventfully away, the men working perhaps not quite so hard as they had at the outset, but still making fairly good progress. The party on the islet had reached to within eighty feet of their goal when they knocked off that night; and now, for the first time, I think, I began to fully realise the momentous character of the issues that were probably to be decided within the next twenty-four hours. Would the treasure be found? Hitherto it had never occurred to me to seriously reflect that there might possibly be an unfavourable reply to this question; but now that only a few short hours lay between me and certainty, I suddenly began to comprehend how much depended upon whether that reply should prove to be Yea or Nay; and an almost uncontrollable impatience to have the matter definitely decided took possession of me, rendering sleep that night an impossibility. But, even with the impatient, though time may lag upon leaden wings, he passes at last; and the morning at length dawned upon me with my nerves quieted and steadied by exhaustion and the reaction from the night’s intolerable excitement.
As it was confidently expected that, if the treasure really existed, and still reposed in its alleged hiding-place, it would that day be found, the ladies determined to go on shore to witness its disinterment, taking the nursemaids and children with them in order that the latter might enjoy what would probably prove to be their last opportunity for a ramble on the lovely island. Accordingly, the party being a large one, both gigs were manned, and all hands of us, even to the cook and steward, went ashore, leaving the ship to take care of herself; the wind being a gentle breeze from the eastward, or somewhat off the land, with a fine, settled look about the weather. Rogers and his party resumed their usual work at the head of the basin; and Forbes, with his gang, vigorously attacked the narrow belt of scrub that still interposed between them and their goal.
It happened, however, that this bit of scrub was more thickly dotted with trees than any other portion that they had yet met with, so that it was four o’clock in the afternoon before a very careful final measurement assured us that the most laborious part of our task had come to an end. The ground, however, was still covered with débris, which had to be cleared away before the actual digging operations could be commenced, and this occupied fully another hour. By this time the evening shadows had begun to climb up the hillsides; nevertheless the men seized their picks and shovels, and, with renewed energy, began to turn up the ground.
They toiled thus for an hour, by which time they had excavated a hole some three feet deep in the centre, and I had actually, with great reluctance, given the word to knock off, when Barr, driving his pick deep into the ground, where he intended to leave it that night, struck upon something harder than soil.
“Hurrah, boys,” he exclaimed, “here’s something at last! Stick to it, and let’s see what it is before we leave it.”
At it again they accordingly went, with such desperate vigour that the perspiration literally poured off their arms and down their necks, and in a few minutes they succeeded in laying bare the top of a solid timber chest, strongly bound with iron. They were very anxious to get this chest out of the ground, there and then; but on attempting to clear the earth away from round about it, it was found that the chest was only one of several others all packed closely together, so that it would be necessary to reach one of the outer chests before any of them could be conveniently moved. We were consequently compelled to content ourselves that night with the knowledge that we had found something, and to wait until the next morning to ascertain the value of our discovery.
The following sunrise found us once more en route for the shore, this time provided with a couple of spare studding-sail booms to act as sheers for the more convenient hoisting out of the chests, together with such rope, blocks, etcetera, as we should require for the purpose. The size of the chests, however, was such as would probably tax the strength of the entire party to handle them, and I was therefore reluctantly compelled to call in the assistance of Rogers and his party.
Even thus reinforced, it soon became apparent that a heavy task lay before us, and it was not until the boatswain was piping to breakfast that the first chest was successfully broken out and raised to the surface.