greed that it was better for him to remain to do
a few more things to the raft. Before he started they arranged the
tackles for launching it; and they believed that, when once in the
water, it would not take them more than ten minutes or a quarter of an
hour to haul the empty casks under the bottom and to step and set up the
mast. They might then, should the wind be favourable, stand boldly out
to sea.

This being settled, Bill lowered himself down on the sand by a rope, and
ran off as fast as he could go.

Jack quickly finished the work he had undertaken; then putting his hand
into his pocket, he felt the gold pieces.

"It's a pity we shouldn't have more of these," he said to himself. "I
don't agree with Bill in that matter. If he does not care about them
for himself, I do for him, and he shall have half."

As he said this he emptied his pockets into one of the chests.

"I shall want a lantern by-the-bye," he said; and springing below, he
secured one with a fresh candle in it.

Having done this, he forthwith lowered himself, as Bill had done, down
on the sand, and quickly made his way to the cavern.

He had left the basket with the tinder-box, and the remnant of their
provisions at their camp, which he soon reached.

His desire to obtain the gold overcame the fears he had before
entertained of ghosts and spirits.

Having lighted his lantern he took up the basket, which had a cloth in
it, and pushed forward. The pale light from his lantern, so different
from that of a couple of blazing torches, made the objects around look
strange and weird. He began not at all to like the appearance of
things, and fancied at last that he must have got into a different part,
of the cavern; still he thought, "I must have the gold. It would be so
foolish to go away without it. It belongs to us as much as to anybody
else, seeing that the owners are dead. Their ghosts won't come to look
for it, I hope. I wish I hadn't thought of that. I must be going
right. It would have been much pleasanter if Bill had been with me.
Why didn't I try to persuade him to stop?"

Such were the thoughts which passed through Jack's mind; but he was a
bold fellow, and did not like giving up what he had once determined on.

He saw no harm in what he was doing; on the contrary, he was serving his
friend Bill as well as himself, or rather his mother, for he wanted the
gold for her. In the meantime, Bill was hurrying on towards the
Turgots'