up and said that he knew Nancy Allen had some money, but he didn't
know where she kept it. Then we drove away.

Pa was quiet, like he was thinkin'. But I could see Mitch was mad, not
that he expected any of the money, but because he wanted me to have it
and thought I deserved it.

We drove past the Old Salem mill comin' home. We'd fished there lots of
times, Mitch and I--not this summer yet, but other summers. We used to
sit on the dam and fish. And pa hadn't hardly said a word till we came
to the mill. Then he said, "If you boys are lookin' for treasure, why
don't you come here?" He knew we'd been diggin' in Montgomery's woods,
but didn't say nothin'. Then Mitch says, "Where would you dig--along
the shore or where? Or is there a cave around here?" Pa said "whoa" and
stopped the horses. He said, "Look up there. Don't that look like
Cardiff's hill in 'Tom Sawyer'?" "Well, it does," said Mitch.

Here was a high hill hanging right over the road and about twict as high
as the mill, or maybe more, with a road winding up to the top. And pa
says: "More treasure was found on the top of that hill than anywhere in
the world, and who knows, maybe some is left there yet. Now I'm going to
take Nancy Allen's money and put it in my vault in the court house. You
boys can't have it. It's against the law. But I promise you that any
treasure you find here, I'll let you keep."

I felt better now, and Mitch's eyes were standin' out of his head. Then
pa said, "Get up" to the horse, and we drove into Petersburg about a
mile. Mitch tried to get pa to say where it was best to dig; but pa
said: "You boys go out there--see what you can find, dig around too, if
you want to, and tell me what you find."

We got into town after a while and pa took the kettle with all the cans
out of the rig and we followed him into his office and saw him put 'em
into the vault and close the door and turn the knob. It was worse than
buryin' a pet dog to see this. It took away our hopes. But there was no
help for it. So we walked out and Mitch said, "If you'll come up to
supper, I'll come back to your house and stay all night." "That's a go,"
I said, "And besides to-morrow is Saturday, and you promised to help me
make garden, if I'd help you." And Mitch said all right, and so we went
to his house.

The Miller family was awful big, five girls and Mitch, and all the
healthiest children you ever saw, fat and rosy and full of fun; and we
had the best times there you