himself as the tall figure of
the man with the broken nose clambered upward through the hatch.

CHAPTER XVIII

Jeremy realized that his life would be in danger if Daggs saw him coming
on deck after what had just happened. He lay still, therefore, in spite
of his desire to tell Bob what he had seen. The rest of the afternoon
his imagination painted pictures of ironbound chests half-buried in the
yellow beach sand of some lonely island far down in the tropics; gloomy
caves beneath mysteriously waving palm trees--caves whose black depths
shot forth a ruddy gleam of gold coin, when a chance ray of light came
through the shade; of shattered hulks that lay ten fathoms down in the
clear green water of some still lagoon, where pure white coral beds gave
back the sleeping sunshine, and fishes of all bright colors he had ever
seen or dreamed about swam through the ancient ports to stare
goggle-eyed at heaps of glistening gems.

At last he must have slept, for Bob's voice in his ear brought him back
to the dingy fo'c's'le of the _Royal James_ with a start. The lantern
was lit and most of the port watch were snoring heavily in their bunks
after a hard day's work. Bob took off his shoes and trousers and climbed
into the narrow berth beside his friend, who was now wide awake.
"Listen, Bob," whispered the New England boy as soon as they were
settled, "do you remember the things Daggs has said, off and on, about
old Sol Brig--how there was always a lot of gold that the men before the
mast never saw and how he must have saved it till he was the richest of
all the pirates? Well, who would know what became of that money, if
anybody did? Daggs, of course, the only man that's left of Brig's crew!
I think Daggs knows, and what's more, I believe I saw the very chart
that shows where it is." He went on to tell all he had seen that
afternoon. Bob was as excited as he when he had finished. "We must try
to get hold of that map or else get a sight of it!" he exclaimed. Jeremy
was doubtful of the possibility of this. "You see," he said, "the key is
on a string 'round his neck. The only way would be to break the chest
open. It's big and heavy and we should raise the whole ship with the
racket. Then, besides, I don't like to steal the thing, even though he
is a pirate." Bob also felt that it would hardly be honest to break into
a man's box, no matter what his character might be. "If we should just
happen to see the chart, though," he final