"No, sir; we did our whole duty by that part of the voyage."
"Did you find it--was the place accurately described?"
"No chart could have made it better. We lost a month in looking for the principal land-mark, which had been altered by the weather; but, that once found, the rest was easy. The difficulty we met with in starting, has brought us home so late in the spring."
"Never mind the spring, Gar'ner; the part that is past is sartain to come round ag'in, in due time. And so you found the very key that was described by Daggett?"
"We did, sir; and just where he described it to be."
"And how about the tree, and the little hillock of sand, at its foot?"
"Both were there, deacon. The hillock must have grown a good deal, by reason of the shifting sand; but, all things considered, the place was well enough described."
"Well--well--well--you opened the hillock, of course!"
"We did, sir; and found the box mentioned by the pirate."
"A good large box, I'll warrant ye! Them pirates seldom do things by halves--he! he! he!"