"There's an end to the treasure, anyway," exclaimed one of the men. "There won't be as much as a plank or a copper nail left ere night."
Having witnessed the destruction of the mutineers, Captain Jeremy descended to the deck and ordered the bos'n to pipe all hands. Then, mounting the poop, he faced the dejected men.
"My lads," he exclaimed in ringing tones, "I'll deceive you no longer. There is no need for discontent or vain regrets, for not one pennyworth of treasure is aboard yon craft. The whole of it is now lying in the storehouse on shore!"
For a full twenty seconds there was a lull or absolute silence; the men seemed unable to grasp the full significance of the words. Then, as the meaning dawned upon them, a roar of cheering burst from a hundred throats.
"If you pause to consider," continued the Captain, "you will see that I acted for the best, even though I had to practise a mild deceit on most of you. Knowing that the rogues on the Neptune were in league with that villain Slater, I purposely caused the treasure chests, filled with stones, to be conveyed on board their craft. You will remember that at no time did I say the treasure was in those chests, but the rascals jumped at the bait. By so doing they have served a double purpose: we shall be troubled by them no more, and the loss of the Neptune has relieved me of a great load of anxiety. How say you? What would they at home say if they saw me bringing back two ships, when I set sail with one only? I also see a way whereby those of you who were shipped as slaves aboard the Neptune can return to your homes, or, if you will it, be set ashore at any port we touch, with your full share of the spoil of the captured buccaneer."
"I have also another proposal to make. By their mutinous conduct those aboard the Neptune would have forfeited their share in the Madre treasure had they lived, so that the amount to be distributed amongst the remaining members of the original crew of the Golden Hope is considerably increased. Now, I am going to set aside the amount of those forfeited shares and divide it amongst you, irrespective of rank, or whether ye be the men who left Poole in the Golden Hope or those who joined us off the Neptune; for 'twas by the hearty efforts of all hands here that we were enabled to lay hands on the treasure. Now, lads, I thank you one and all. It only remains to load up our precious cargo, get the ship ready for sea, and yo-ho! for old England."
When the applause that greeted the termination of Captain Jeremy's speech had subsided, a number of men, headed by Tom Cherry, elbowed their way through the dense crowd of their delighted comrades.
"Cap'n," exclaimed Cherry, "I've a favour to ask you."
"Say on," replied Captain Jeremy.
"Me and my mates here," said the sturdy seaman, "want to take the long-boat and row out to yon wreck. Maybe some of the poor chaps are still aboard."