you should be
my Heir--and I have this day Executed my last Will and Testament,
bequeathing to you all my Property and effects. It is left with
Mr. Dulany, the Attorney, who wrote it, to be probated in due
Season.

"But there still remains a goodly portion which, for obvious
reasons, may not be so disposed of. I mean my buried Treasure. I
buried it in September, 1720, shortly after I came to Annapolis,
trusting not to keep so great an Amount in my House. It amounts
to about half my Fortune, and Approximates near to Fifty Thousand
Pounds, though that may be but a crude Estimate at best, for I am
not skilled in the judging of Precious Stones. Where I obtained
this wealth, I need not mention, though you can likely guess. And
as there is nothing by which it can be identified, you can use it
without Hesitation. Subject, however, to one Restriction: As it
was not honestly come by (according to the World's estimate,
because, forsooth, I only risked my Life in the gathering,
instead of pilfering it from my Fellow man in Business, which is
the accepted fashion) I ask you not to use it except in an
Extremity of Need. If that need does not arise in your Life, you,
in turn, may pass this letter on to your heir, and he, in turn,
to his heir, and so on, until such Time as the Need may come, and
the Restriction be lifted. And now to find the Treasure:--

"Seven hundred and fifty feet--and at right angles to the water
line--from the extreme tip of Greenberry Point, below Annapolis,
where the Severn runs into the Chesapeake, are four large Beech
trees, standing as of the corners of a Square, though not
equidistant. Bisect this Square, by two lines drawn from the
Corners. At a Point three hundred and thirty feet,
North-by-North-East, from where these two lines intersect and at
a depth of Six feet, you will come upon an Iron Box. It contains
the Treasure. And I wish you (or whoever recovers it) Joy of
it!--as much joy with it as I had in the Gathering.

"Lest I die before you come again to Annapolis, I shall leave
this letter with Mr. Dulany, to be delivered to you on the First
Occasion. I judge him as one who will respect a Dead man's seal.
If I see you not again, Farewell. I am, sir, with great
respect,

"Y'r humb'l & obed't Serv'nt

"Robert Parmenter.

"To Marmaduke Duval, Esq'