Captain Mansfield examined the outside of the box intently, apparently more interested in the find than the boys, and then said, slowly:
“It belonged to an old sailor whom I found in Hong Kong many years ago. He was in the last stages of consumption, and begged me to bring him to this country. I advised him to remain in the hospital, for it seemed certain he would die at sea; but he persisted, and on the fortieth day out we were obliged to give him a sailor’s burial. The night he died we were doing our best to save the ship, she having been partially dismasted in a typhoon, and when he asked for me, I was needed on deck. He sent word by one of the men that I was to keep his chest, which I did, although it seemed nothing more than a dying man’s whim. It was probably brought here with my dunnage, and I have never thought of it since. Now I can fancy what sort of a yarn he wanted to tell me.”
“Do you suppose these things refer to buried treasure?” Nelse asked, excitedly, remembering what had been read.
“He probably thought he knew where some of the buccaneers had hidden their booty. Take ten old sailors together, and it is safe to say that five of them believe they can find gold which has been hidden by pirates.”
“Is what we read in the newspaper true?” Gil asked.
“There can be no question about it. There have been several reliable histories of these sea robbers written, and by looking in an encyclopædia you will learn how fragmentary this article is. New Segovia, in Honduras, was sacked by them. Maracaibo and Gibraltar, in the Gulf of Venezuela, were plundered by the buccaneers under the command of D’Ollonois. Morgan, with two thousand men, crossed the Isthmus to lay siege to Panama, and destroyed it. Coxon ravaged the coast of Peru, and I might go on telling of their crimes until next week without finishing the story. All this doesn’t prove, however, that your find contains a clew to buried gold.”
“But why not try to learn if these things really amount to anything?” Gil suggested, eagerly. “You have said you didn’t care where we went, and this would give us a purpose.”
“Yes, and one involving no end of hard work; but if you boys want to make the venture, and can decide where this particular spot is located, I’ll head the Day Dream for the place, and give you a chance.”
Nelse and Gil began to express their gratification; but the latter’s father interrupted them by saying:
“Don’t thank me. Treasure hunting is very different from what you fancy, and one day’s work, under a tropical sun, no matter how promising your clews may be, will result in a most intense desire to leave such jobs to other idiots. It is time now to get your traps on board, for the storm gives promise of clearing away, with a favoring wind, and the Day Dream will be under way before sunrise.”