THE CHART AND THE CAVES
John pored over the map, without going any further. Evidently something was passing in his mind, for occasionally his eyes left the paper and he looked about, as though undecided.
"Do you know any more about what they found?"
"Yes; there are many incomplete portions belonging to the history, but it may be summed up by the statement, that they also found an immense amount of treasure, much of it in the form of solid gold. The adventurers were wild with joy at the discovery, and took steps to remove it.
"Before proceeding far they found carvings and inscriptions, the latter of which were unintelligible to them, but they were very curious, judging from the few sketches which were made. But like many men of their class they began to quarrel over the treasure, and fought each other to the death."
"That was just like the fellows who lived in the cave at the Cataract," suggested Harry.
"No doubt that was over the treasure, too, there, as well as here. Four of the men escaped, only to be chased by savages, and after finally reaching their vessel were almost wrecked because they did not have enough properly to man the ship.
"After reaching civilization, they engaged a num[p. 165]ber of men, and returned. Some went in, among them two of the original discoverers. They did not return for some days, and another party went in, but they did not return.
"Only one of the four remained, and when their companions did not return, the others took fright and returned to the vessel. Juan Guiterez was the name of the sole survivor of the first expedition. The adventurers who accompanied him declared that he and his company had lured them to the strange isle, in order to destroy them, and on the return to the first Spanish port, he was cast into prison, and remained a prisoner for nearly twenty years.
"This chart, or what remains of it, or from which this copy was made was written by him while in prison, but the singular thing is, that while he was explicit in many things, he did not leave a clue as to the location of the island. Many of the things on it, as you see, are very faint."