ad you do; but you have seen them, I have
not."

"But Sep saw them too."

"I saw the box we hauled up," I said; "but I could not be sure about
what was at the bottom amongst the rocks and weeds."

Bigley looked so disappointed that my father smiled.

"Come," he cried; "you think I am ungrateful, and throwing cold water
upon your discovery, when there is plenty over it as it is. So come,
let us assume that the treasure is there, and begin to make our plans
about how to recover it."

At the last moment we had been obliged to leave the pony at the little
inn, and we were walking steadily back as this conversation went on.

"Well, sir, it will be very easy," said Bigley eagerly.

"Not so easy," said my father. "We shall want a couple of men who can
dive."

"Oh no, you will not, sir," replied Bigley. "I have thought it all out.
All we shall want will be a clear day with the sea smooth."

"Yes, highly necessary, Bigley," said my father.

"Then we should want a very long smooth pole, and if we could not get
one long enough two poles would have to be fished together."

"And then you'd fish for the boxes?" I said.

"No," said Bigley seriously; "you would have to sink the pole just down
to where the chests lie, and rig up a block at the top, run a rope
through it, hold one end of the rope in the boat to which the pole is
made fast, and at the other end have a thick strong bag made of net."

"Well, what then?" said my father.

"Why, then you would put a big pig of lead in the bag, let me take hold
of the bag, let the rope run slack, and I should go down to the bottom
in an instant. Then I should lift a box into the net-bag and come up,
leaving it there for you in the boat to haul it up."

"Yes, that sounds very simple," said my father; "but could you do it?"

"Could I do it!" cried Bigley. "Why, sir, we did get one up to the top
without any proper things. I can dive."

"Yes, he can dive, father," I said eagerly. "You need not be afraid
about that."

My father looked at us both, and grew very silent, as we trudged on, to
reach the cottage at last utterly tired; and though Bigley proposed that
we should go on and see whether the buoy we had left was all right, my
father said that it might very well wait till morning, and Bigley stayed
for the night.

"I thought your father would have been ever so much more eager and
excited about it," said Bigley, speaking to me from the inner room where
he slept, the