The exclamation was caused by the sudden revealing of a large cavern-like aperture that opened up before him. This must be the hold of the vessel and the treasure was more likely to be here than in any other part of the ship.
Once more he felt the wild thrill of the hunt and he plunged forward, his one thought to pierce the mysterious darkness and find what—if anything—it hid from him.
He stumbled and with a great effort kept himself from falling headlong. His lights revealed another skeleton propped up in a sitting position against a great brass-bound chest.
A return of the horror which Phil had felt upon discovery of the dead man in the cabin was mixed with a thrill of the purest excitement.
That brass-bound chest—what did it contain? He lunged forward and with the hooks that served him as hands strove to lift the cover. No use! The chest was padlocked and the top held firm.
Mad with excitement by this time he made his way further into the hold. There was another chest but it, like its fellow, was locked.
Impatiently Phil turned away and then—something glittered in the light of his lamps, something that gleamed faintly yellow.
With a hoarse cry Phil stooped and picked up the shining thing. Gold, gold, the magic touch of it! The joy that throbbed through him was almost pain. The thing that, up to this moment had seemed like a glittering dream was now within his grasp. Where there was one coin there must be more——.
He was on his knees now, groping about the floor of the place, eagerly, searchingly. More—there must be more——. Ah! There, just within the radiance of his lights lay a heap of them, shining, golden things, a fortune lying at the bottom of the sea, waiting to be claimed.
For there, standing beside the heap of golden coins stood that which at first made Phil’s heart stand still, then race madly on again.