When this had been done there was no longer any delay in continuing the investigation. With one accord every member of the party seized at the same moment the discolored covering which hid from view the secret of the key. The fabric crumbled in their hands like tinder, and instead of lifting it off readily each pulled up a small quantity of moldering fiber.
"Take the shovel!" Bob cried excitedly to Joe. "This stuff hasn't got much more substance than dust, an' it must be scraped away carefully."
"It's a bad lookout for what may be beneath," Joe replied grimly, as he obeyed the order while the boys and Bob worked with their hands until a black, stiff surface was exposed.
"This is tarred canvas, an' by gettin' hold of the edges we can lift it out, I reckon," the old sailor said; and as the others followed his example the second covering, together with the remaining fragments of the first, was raised without difficulty, exposing to view a sight well calculated to increase the already feverish excitement.
An excavation about five feet square, dug down to the bed-rock and lined on the sides with tarred canvas, was revealed, while in it, packed with a view to economy of space, were a large number of small, black bags full to plumpness of something which bulged here and there like metal.
Bob drew his sheath-knife in a twinkling, and instead of cutting the mouth of a bag which he lifted from its long resting-place, slit it down the side, allowing the contents to drop in a dull yellow shower on the sand.
"Talk about wantin' salvage on the brig!" he cried; "why, here's more money than she and her cargo would fetch in any port! It's gold, lads! Here's a Spanish doubloon; this is an English sovereign; an' there's a Dutch piece. It would puzzle a lawyer to count it off-hand; but we oughter be satisfied at knowin' that every coin is good, lawful money, no matter how them as put their fists to the dockerment may a' got it!"
Bob was almost beside himself with joy, and the others were not one whit more calm. Each had torn or cut open a bag, and was handling the contents as if every touch of the precious metal gave pleasure. That the hoard was valuable every member of the party knew beyond a doubt, even though no one could compute the actual amount. There were coins of almost every nation, some of gold, others of silver, all poured into the tarred canvas bags without any attempt at classification, but simply that they might be in a portable shape.
The bag Harry opened contained, in addition to the money, several rings; but in the excitement of the moment there was no thought of examining them critically. It was sufficient that they were in possession of a large amount of treasure; the value of the find was a secondary consideration just then.
The old sailor finally aroused himself from what can be called by no other name than a delirium of joy, and with his awakening to the reality came that which the accumulation of wealth always brings—fear lest it should be lost as suddenly as it was gained.