“‘Not if the sea were to roar, nor the sky to fall, nor an earthquake to uproot the hills, nor anything!’
“‘Well, you may go now, and when you return we will be richer than the Governor himself. I have always been dreaming that such a day might come to us as a sort of reward for all that we have suffered. But they say that Captain Kidd tricks those who dig for his treasures. His ghost appears to them. Never you fear if he lays hands on you.’
“The old man went down to the sea. The moon rose so fast that he could see it rising.
“The old couple had a black cat, a very sleek, fat little animal, which lived much on the broken clams that the clam-diggers threw out of their piles of bivalves at low tides.
“When she saw that the old man was going down to the sea, she started after him, with still feet—still, still.
“The old man measured by his eye the center of the thatch-patch, and dug into the tough roots of the thatch lustily. He became exhausted at last and stopped to rest, looking up to the moon that glittered in the autumn sea. He pushed the handle of the hoe down into the sand. It struck something that sounded like iron. He felt sure of the treasure.
“Suddenly he felt something rubbing against his leg. It was like a hand. ‘Captain Kidd came back to disconcert me,’ thought he. ‘But I will never speak a word,’ thought he silently, ‘not for the moon herself, nor for a thousand moons.’
“The supposed hand again rubbed against his leg—still, still.
“He turned his head very slowly and cautiously. He saw something move. It was like a gloved hand. ‘Captain Kidd’s, sure,’ he thought, but did not speak a word. The thing had still feet or hands.
“He turned his head a little more and was humbled to discover that it was not Captain Kidd’s hand at all, but only Tommy, purring and purring—still, still.