“But you forget that she is likely to go to pieces in the next gale.”
“Stop discussing the future possibilities,” Roy cried impatiently. “There will be time for that after all the work has been done, and just now I want you to find out whether I’ve got a roast or a stew. It isn’t such a great while ago since Vance was worrying terribly about it, and now the stuff is getting cold.”
Ned was perfectly willing to sample Roy’s cookery, but he did not intend that the subject which he had brought up should be dropped without a thorough discussion.
He was most eager to interest his companions in the task of saving the little steamer, and mentally resolved to broach the matter again at the first convenient opportunity.
There was no mistaking the savory dish Roy set before them for anything but stew, even though it had been made of canned meat, and the tired boys ate until even the counting of silver seemed very much like a hardship.
A short siesta seemed absolutely necessary after such a hearty meal, and not until an hour had passed was the work of stowing away the treasure resumed.
Then all three assisted in the counting, and when the task had been completed they knew Ned’s find amounted to exactly twenty eight hundred Mexican dollars.
“The pile looked as if it was much larger,” Vance said in a tone of disappointment as the last piece was placed in one of the pillow-case bags.
“Considering the fact that it was got without very much labor, I don’t think there is any reason to kick,” Roy replied with a laugh. “To hear you one would fancy you thought you were an injured individual because the money wasn’t counted, placed in bags bearing your monogram, and tagged in proper shape.”
“No, that’s where you’re wrong,” Vance said gravely. “I’m willing to do the counting and stowing away, but I don’t like to make such a mistake. I figured that there couldn’t be less than $6,000 in the lot.”