“But say—look here!” exclaimed Ned. “Do you mean to say that after Mr. Denby got you three to intrust the most of your shares to him, that he wouldn’t give them back to you?”
“That’s what he did!” exclaimed Jolly Bill. “Not but what he had a right to under the circumstances. I’ll say that for him.”
“What circumstances?” asked Bob.
“Well, we acted foolish,” confessed the one-legged sailor, as if somewhat ashamed of himself. “At least Rod and I did, but I was led into it by that skunk. After we three had spent most of the first lot we took out of the treasure, Rod proposed that he and I and Hiram rob old Hank of all that was left—take Hank’s share as well as our own.
“I fell in with the scheme, when Rod told me that Hiram was in it also, but I’ve found out since that this was a lie. Hiram wouldn’t do it. And I wouldn’t have gone into it with Rod except that he had me fozzled with strong drink. That cured me—I never touched another drop since. It was how I lost my leg.”
The story was rapidly approaching a dramatic climax, and seeing a quiet place beside the road. Bob drew the car in there and stopped it.
“That’s better,” commented Jolly Bill. “I can talk better when I’m not so rattled about. To make a long story short, I believed what that rat Rod told me—that he and I and Hiram, together, could steal the map of the new place where the treasure was hid, and take it from Hank. Hank had made a lot of money with his first share—he was getting to be fair rich, and we’d spent ours—that is Rod and I had, though I found out that Hiram had done almost as well as Hank had. He had some money put away for a rainy day.
“Well, one night we carried out the plans. It was dark and stormy and Rod and I were to meet at a certain place, get into Hank’s house on pretense of wanting to ask for more of our shares, and then we were to attack him and get the map. I wondered why Hiram wasn’t with us, but Rod said he’d meet us at Hank’s house.
“I found out since that Rod tried to get Hiram in on the wicked scheme, but Hiram wouldn’t come, and threatened to tell Hank. However, it was too late for that. Rod and I went at it alone, but Hank showed fight. I got a bullet in my leg and had to have it taken off. Rod ran and I haven’t seen him since. Hiram wasn’t in on the mean trick, as I realize now it was, and I was laid up!
“That ended the attempt to get more than our share away from Hank, and, not only that, but we had forfeited our right to any more of the treasure.”