“Ain’t you goin’ it a little strong when you talk of buying a boat?” Vance asked.
“We’ve got to have one, otherwise how will it be possible to go ashore?”
“But what about money to pay for it?”
“I reckon what we took out of the hulk will see us through.”
“Are you counting on using that?” Vance asked in surprise.
“What else can we do? The machinery must be put in working order, we are bound to hire a crew, and we’ve got to have the interpreter which the officer is goin’ to send. All that can’t be accomplished without funds, and I see no reason why we shouldn’t dip into the hoard which some very jolly fellow must have stowed away for our especial benefit.”
“Of course we shall use it,” Roy added. “It would be ridiculous to suffer for anything when we have sufficient means in the hold to buy even a new craft if it should become necessary.”
Roy understood that he must do as his companions wished, but at the same time it seemed almost a sacrilege to use the treasure. As a matter of fact he had become almost a miser since the discovery of the wealth, and it pained him to think of spending so much as a single coin.
It was necessary to draw on the hoard for funds, and since this should be done while they were alone, Vance went below to attend to that very important task.
He returned with about a hundred Mexican dollars and half that number of gold-pieces, the value of which none of the party knew.