“Quick! Quick!” he cried. “Let’s get the other stones off.” He hurled from the pit with ease one which, a minute before, he could hardly have stirred. The splendid madness of success tripled strength. The old man beside him shared in the frenzy of toil. Within an incredibly short time, the oak covering was laid bare, and one corner of the chest stood exposed for its whole height. It was a great box of polished wood, brass-bound at the corners. The cover was made fast by hasp and padlock—the whole simple, yet very strong and handsome.
“Hurrah!” Jake cried, as he paused from the work to wipe his dripping forehead.
“Hurrah!” Saxe answered, as he, too, rested. Then, he remained staring at the mighty box, wherein lay a fortune. He was too dazed by the final victory to think with coherence: he could but feel, with every atom of the energy in him.
There was no further interchange between the two for some time. In silence, they again attacked the litter of rock that surrounded the chest. It was freed at last from the rampart that had shielded it. Jake put his shoulder against the side, and essayed an experimental push. With a groan from the strain, he abandoned the futile effort. There was vast contentment in his smile when he spoke:
“I calc’late that-thar box will heft pretty consid’ble. It’s gold, all right.”
“Yes, it’s the gold,” Saxe agreed, dreamily. He was thinking of Margaret now, and he smiled as he reflected on the fact that the miser’s legacy would fall to her and him together. A great longing to be alone assailed him. He turned impulsively to the boatman.
“Hurry, and find the others, Jake!” he directed.
“You bet ye!” the boatman responded, with alacrity. He was eager to bear the tidings. In a trice, he had scrambled out of the pit, seized his lantern, and set off briskly up the slope of the tunnel.
Left alone, Saxe lighted a cigarette, smiling a little as he noted the manner in which his hands were trembling. Then, he seated himself comfortably at the edge of the pit, and gazed raptly down on the treasure-chest.