Well, to make a long story short, we found the island and the
treasure--a great iron-bound oak chest, wrapped in many layers of oiled
sailcloth, and as strong and firm as when it had been buried nearly two
hundred years ago.

It was SIMPLY FILLED with gold coin, and was so heavy that four men
bent underneath its weight.

The horrid thing seems to bring nothing but murder and misfortune to
those who have anything to do with it, for three days after we sailed
from the Cape Verde Islands our own crew mutinied and killed every one
of their officers.

Oh, it was the most terrifying experience one could imagine--I cannot
even write of it.

They were going to kill us too, but one of them, the leader, named
King, would not let them, and so they sailed south along the coast to a
lonely spot where they found a good harbor, and here they landed and
have left us.

They sailed away with the treasure to-day, but Mr. Clayton says they
will meet with a fate similar to the mutineers of the ancient galleon,
because King, the only man aboard who knew aught of navigation, was
murdered on the beach by one of the men the day we landed.

I wish you could know Mr. Clayton; he is the dearest fellow imaginable,
and unless I am mistaken he has fallen very much in love with me.

He is the only son of Lord Greystoke, and some day will inherit the
title and estates. In addition, he is wealthy in his own right, but
the fact that he is going to be an English Lord makes me very sad--you
know what my sentiments have always been relative to American girls who
married titled foreigners. Oh, if he were only a plain American
gentleman!

But it isn't his fault, poor fellow, and in everything except birth he
would do credit to my country, and that is the greatest compliment I
know how to pay any man.

We have had the most weird experiences since we were landed here. Papa
and Mr. Philander lost in the jungle, and chased by a real lion.

Mr. Clayton lost, and attacked twice by wild beasts. Esmeralda and I
cornered in an old cabin by a perfectly awful man-eating lioness. Oh,
it was simply "terrifical," as Esmeralda would say.

But the strangest part of it all is the wonderful creature who rescued
us. I have not seen him, but Mr. Clayton and papa and Mr. Philander
have, and they say that he is a perfectly god-like white man tanned to
a dusky brown, with the strength of a wild elephant, the agility of a
monkey, and the bravery of a lion.