The sheet of metal, which was about eight feet square and half an inch in thickness, covered considerable more space than had the base of the coral-head, consequently it became necessary to work some time longer with the shovel before it could be raised.
After the edges were exposed, and the sand had been thrown back to prevent any chance of its falling in and burying whatever might be beneath when the metal was removed, Bob said in a tone of caution, curbing his own excitement as much as possible:
"Keep cool, lads, for too great speed jes' now may make no end of extra work. Joe, you take hold of this 'ere plate with me, while Jim stands by with the shovel in case we start the sand a runnin'. Don't let your hopes climb so high that you'll be disappointed if we fail to find anything here, my hearties, for there's a good many chances somebody has been at this place ahead of us, an' we'll have all our labor for nothin'. Calm down same's I am, an' then there won't be any harm done if we find nothin' but an empty hole."
Bob's advice was good, but he did not follow it himself. Now they were so near the end of the task, he was actually trembling with suppressed excitement, and it was as if he had made this long speech for the purpose of quieting his own nerves.
The boys stood around the excavation awaiting impatiently the moment when the secret was to be revealed; and although Jim held the shovel ready to check any flow of sand, it was apparent that he paid more heed to what might be under the metal plate than the duty assigned him.
To raise the heavy covering was more difficult than the old sailor at first supposed. Four times did he and Joe make the attempt unsuccessfully, and then, as every muscle was strained to the utmost, it canted on edge, while five pairs of eyes peered eagerly into what was naturally supposed to be an excavation.
If the anxious ones had expected an immediate view of treasure they were disappointed. A mass of what appeared to be canvas, but so discolored and decayed as to require a close scrutiny before such fact could be determined, was all that could be seen, and this in itself cheered Bob wonderfully.
"Whatever was buried is still here, for if anybody had got at it they wouldn't a' taken the trouble to cover the hole over again. All hands turn to an' lift this chunk of metal out of the way."
"An' don't be two or three hours about it either," Jim cried impatiently, as he grasped one side of the huge plate, "or we'll never find out what's under the canvas."
The additional excitement lent strength to every arm, and as if it had been nothing more than a piece of wood the heavy mass was rolled end over end until it lay on the sand a dozen feet from the excavation.