e more
than a foot thick at the ground had grown up at the edge of the rock. We
brought this down by digging at the roots. After another quarter of an
hour's work Barbados unearthed a bottle. He was as proud of his find as
if it had been a bar of gold.

We were all excited. The bottle was passed from hand to hand.

"We're getting warm," I cried. "This is the spot. Remember that every
mother's son of you shares what we find. Five dollars to the man that
first touches treasure."

There was a cheer. The men fell to work with renewed vigor. Presently
Gallagher's spade hit something solid. A little scraping showed the top
of an iron box.

"I claim that five, sir," cried Gallagher.

I jumped into the hole beside him. With our hands we scraped the dirt
away from the sides.

"Heave away," I gave the word.

We lifted the box to the solid ground above. It was very rusty, of a
good size, and heavy.

"Let's open it now," cried Jimmie, dancing with enthusiasm.

"Let's not," I vetoed. "We'll take it on board first. Five dollars to
the man that finds the second box."

But there was no second box. We worked till dark at the hole. Before we
left there was an excavation large enough for the cellar of a house. But
not a trace of more treasure did we find.

Blythe had decided it best not to open the treasure before the men, and
though the crew was plainly disappointed we stuck to that resolution.

Sam promised the men that they should see it before we reached San
Francisco, and that they should appoint two of their number to accompany
the treasure to the assay office in that city to determine the value of
our find and their share.

Yeager, being handier with an ax than the rest of us, broke open the lid
of the chest. A piece of coarse sacking covered the contents. Blythe
lifted this--_and disclosed to our astonished eyes a jumble of stones
and sand_.

We looked at our find and at each other. Tom put our feeling into words.

"Bilked, by Moses!"

We tossed the rocks and sand upon the table and came to a piece of
ragged paper folded in two. In a faint red four words were traced as if
with the end of a pointed stick.

Sold, you devils! BUCKS.

CHAPTER XXII

TREASURE-TROVE

Tom broke the silence again.

"Now will some one tell me who the devil is Bucks?"

It was the question in all our minds and our eyes groped helplessly in
those of each other for an answer.

"Bucks! Bucks! I've heard his name somewhere.