Dazed, the corporal scrambled back to a position on his knees and stared in bewilderment at the chest. There was not a great deal to see. Within, the chest was fitted with a thin metal lid, which completely hid everything below. On the inside of the cover, however, was pasted a heavy label, upon which was the following writing:
“TREASURE CHEST.—Exhumed in September 1843 from the ruins of an ancient temple discovered by Sir George Pettibone, English explorer, near Kaifeng, in the province of Honan, China. Believed to date back to the Mongol or Ming Dynasty, (A. D. 1260-1368), (A. D. 1368-1644).”
“Wonderful!” exclaimed Dick, when Corporal Rand had finished reading.
“It is wonderful,” breathed Wyatt. “It would be interesting to know how it came into Dewberry’s possession.”
Sandy was impatient. He had pushed closer to Corporal Rand and was looking down at the chest over the policeman’s shoulder.
“I can hardly wait until you remove that lid,” he broke forth. “Why don’t you lift it up, corporal?”
Gingerly, Rand placed a thumb and finger in two round holes in the lid and tugged gently. Slowly, an inch or two at a time, it came up, revealing an interior space taken up by six square trays of sandalwood—any one of which contained a fortune.
Gold! Treasure! The boys caught their breath. There came a concerted rush around the box. Exclamations of amazement. Not only gold here—but precious stones. Diamonds! Sapphires! Blood-red rubies! Platinum in rings and bars. Gold dust! Curios! Priceless antiques! Nuggets!
Sandy and Dick were shouting and exclaiming like maniacs. Wyatt and Corporal Rand were talking in excited tones. Toma, less interested than any of them, after a curious, puzzled glance into the interior of the chest, backed away, grunting out something under his breath.
It was Sandy, who presently discovered that the trays were removable, that underneath them was a shallow compartment, three or four inches in depth, completely filled with letters and papers and documents of various kinds.