“Not a particle,” affirmed Ross stoutly. “We’ll find that treasure, sooner or later, if it ever was 201 actually hidden in the neighborhood of Bartanet Shoals.”
“You bet we will!” declared Fred, “even if we have to import a steam shovel to dig up the whole territory.”
“I hope it will be soon,” interposed Bill. “It’ll be us for Rally Hall, you know, before long, and then what chance will we have?”
“Keep a stiff upper lip,” counseled Lester. “We’ve just begun to fight.”
During the conversation the eavesdropper had lain quietly and listened with the closest attention. Now he edged away cautiously, and when he had reached a sufficient distance rose to his feet and hurried back in the direction of Bartanet.
The boys light-heartedly got into their boat and rowed back to the lighthouse without the slightest suspicion that almost all they had said had been overheard by Andy Shanks.
That rascal hastened back to town, his brain awhirl with dreams of sudden riches. He had heard enough to know that there was treasure buried in or around Bartanet, and he also knew that the boys whom he held in hatred were in search of it. What joy to steal the riches from them and thus gain the twofold advantage of thwarting them and at the same time putting himself in a position to indulge those vices in which he delighted!
Before Andy had gone far, he met one of the 202 village youths whose acquaintance he had recently made. Unfortunately for Andy, this young fellow, who was named Morton, had a strong liking for practical jokes, and after Andy, with his usual boastfulness, had thrown out sly hints about knowing how to “pick up all the money that he wanted,” Morton scented a chance to make a victim.
As Andy was very vague regarding the sources from which he expected to get his wealth, Morton did not hesitate to impart to Andy the slighting opinion that he was “talking through his hat.”
“Not much I’m not,” retorted Andy, stung by the imputation. “I tell you I know there’s oodles of money buried somewhere around here and what’s more, if you’ll help me to find it, I’ll let you in for a share of it.”