buried it in the sand not far from where he found it."

"You have it figured out beautifully," Sam laughed. "Well, I wish you
luck."

"But you don't expect any for me. Just you wait and see."

We called the crew in and showed them what we had found, explaining the
facts and our deductions from them. For we thought it better they should
know just how matters stood. Their disappointment was keen, but to a man
they were eager to search further.

Hitherto we had staked our chances for success upon the map, but it was
now manifest that the chart was no longer of any use. I decided first to
take a look along the shore from the point where we had discovered the
first box.

Fortune is a fickle jade. We had spent a week here and met only
disappointment, working on careful calculations made from the directions
left by Quinn. By chance Gallagher had hit on the first cache. By chance
I hit on the second.

Fighting my way through the jungle just adjacent to the beach I stumbled
over what I took to be a root. In some annoyance I glanced hastily at
the projection--and then looked again. My foot had been caught by a bone
sticking out of the ground. The odd thing was that it looked like a
human bone.

I plied my machete. Within a quarter of an hour I had cleared a small
square of ground and was digging with a pick. What I presently uncovered
were the remains of a skeleton. An old sack, more brittle than paper,
lay beneath these. This I removed. There, lying in the sand, were _three
bars of gold_.

My heart jumped, lost a beat, hammered furiously. I looked around
quickly. Alderson and Gallagher were the only men I had brought ashore
with me. They were digging at haphazard in the sand a hundred yards
away. With one stroke of the pick I upended several more yellow bars.

That was enough for me. I laid aside the first three and covered the
others with sand, using my foot as a spade. The three original bars I
buttoned under my coat and then walked down hill to the beach.

"I'm going aboard," I told the men.

"Gallagher, you may row me out. I'll be back presently, Alderson."

I was under a tremendous suppressed excitement. Blythe met me as I came
aboard and his eyes questioned mine. Without a word we moved toward the
bridge pavilion and down into the saloon.

"I've had another message from Mr. Bucks," I told him.

"The deuce you say!"

"He delivered it in person this time."

The Englishman's eyes danced, but otherwise hi