“I think not, sir,” said Captain Bell, eagerly. “It occurred, to be sure, forty years ago, but I think it is upon a reef not so very far beneath the surface.”
Then Captain Bell went on to tell the story of the lost treasure.
“I was quite a young man, then,” he said, “and was in the navy, as captain of a small sloop-of-war, called the Utopia.
“Reports were coming in thick and fast of Captain Longboots, the pirate, who was so venturesome as to penetrate within one hundred miles of New York City in quest of a prize.
“His ship, the Vestal Virgin, odd name for a pirate, was a fast sailer, and most of our war vessels could not keep in sight of her.
“The pirate captain’s real name nobody could learn, but he was called Captain Longboots from the immensely long boots which he wore at all times.
“But there was a suspicion in the navy department that he was really Isaac Van Dorn, once a captain in the service, and who had become disgruntled on account of a reprimand from a superior officer, and sought revenge upon the Government by starting out upon a tour of piracy.
“Well, the Secretary of the Navy selected me and the Utopia to go in chase of the pirate.
“Just at this time there came a report that an English steamer had been overhauled, and a million dollars in American gold had been seized by Longboots.
“This settled the question. I was at once in receipt of sailing orders.