Walter started at the vehemence of the question, and threw back his head, as he answered: "Did you find the copper box?"
"Yes," responded John, with a look of triumph.
Walter's features relaxed, and he seemed to sink down, as he gazed about him with a final look of despair.
"Then the quest is ended!" he muttered.
"What do you mean? Explain!" demanded John.
"When I began the search for the treasure of the caves, I was the owner of the original document written by Juan Guiterez before he died in the Spanish prison. Three attempts had been made to find the island, which contained the secret, and that secret was in the copper box which told of the places and the locations of the other caves. In each case the[p. 232] quest failed, and all perished. The peculiar significance arises from the fact that the only directions were given on a human skull by Guiterez himself, who declared that two of the skulls would have the inscriptions on the left side, while the one with the cryptic signs on the right side would be accompanied by the descriptions of the locations of all the Caves on the different islands."
"But why should there be three skulls?" asked George, in great eagerness.
"There were three attempts, each resulting in death. The skull is emblematic of death."
"Will you tell us why you tried to avoid Clifford, and were startled at the sight of the skulls?" asked John.
"If, as you say, you have found the copper box, I have no further reason to remain silent. I found one of the skulls,—the others I could not find, one of which I knew must be in the treasure cave. If I had known you found the one in the cave I should not have tried to get away, as I hoped, finally, to find the cave. Since coming here I learned that you had found the third island; I knew of only two, and supposed that the two skulls were from those two, namely, Wonder and Venture Islands."