stimate of their
weight happened to be correct, this little pile of precious metal must
be worth--what? A short mental calculation--taking the gold to be worth
three pounds fifteen shillings the ounce--furnished him with the answer;
the handsome sum of close upon seven hundred thousand pounds sterling.
Quite a respectable fortune!

But this was not all. There were other chests and cases still awaiting
examination; and, fully convinced by now that he had accidentally
stumbled upon one of those fabulously rich treasures that the Spanish
galleons were reported to have conveyed from time to time from the
shores of the new world to those of old Spain--how it had happened to
find its way to this particular spot he did not trouble to puzzle out--
Leslie went to work to break open and examine the remainder of the
packages, heedless of the flight of time. Some of them he found to
contain rich clothing, that fell to pieces as he attempted to lift the
garments out of the receptacles that had held them in safe keeping for
so long; others--two of the largest--were packed full of gold
candlesticks, crosses, jewelled cups, and other vessels and articles of
a character that seemed to point to their having been the spoils of some
looted church--a circumstance that caused Leslie to suspect that his
find represented the proceeds of some more than ordinarily successful
oldtime piratical cruise. And finally the innermost chest of all, and
consequently the last arrived at, disclosed to Dick's astounded gaze a
collection of jewels, set and unset, that fairly made him reel with
astonishment. There were great ropes of discoloured pearls, that would
be priceless if they could by any means be restored to their pristine
state of purity; diamond, ruby, emerald, and other necklaces, bracelets,
rings, brooches, and other ornaments in more or less tarnished settings;
heavy chains of solid gold; jewelled sword-hilts; and, last but not
least, a great buckskin bag that was still in pliant and serviceable
condition, containing a heterogeneous assortment of cut and uncut gems--
principally diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires--every one of them
apparently picked specimens, the whole constituting of itself a treasure
of incalculable value.

As Dick, having pocketed a handful of these gems at random to show
Flora, replaced the heavy bag in the chest and sank back on his haunches
to rest himself while he mopped from his brow the perspiration of har