ants, and then goes on to tell how the king took him to the great
treasure-chamber, where he saw such riches as mortal man had never
looked upon before."

"But that doesn't tell you where the treasure-chamber is?" argued Hayle.

"Perhaps not, but there are other ways of finding out; that is, if a man
has his wits about him. You've got to put two and two together if you
want to get on in this world. Coddy has translated it all, and this is
what it amounts to. When the king had shown the traveller his treasure,
the latter declared that his eyes were so blinded by its magnificence
that he could scarcely mount the steps to the spot where his majesty
gave audience to his people. In another place it mentions that when the
king administered justice he was seated on the throne in the courtyard
of the Three-headed Elephants. Now what we've got to do is to find that
courtyard, and find it we will."

"But how do you know that the treasure hasn't been taken away years ago?
Do you think they were such fools as to leave it behind when they went
elsewhere? Not they!"

Though they were well out of earshot of the land, and alone upon the
boat, Kitwater looked round him suspiciously before he answered. Then a
pleasant smile played over his face. It was as if he were recalling some
happy memory.

"How do I know it?" he asked by way of preface. "If you'll listen for a
moment, I'll tell you. If you want more proof, when I've done, you must
be difficult to please. When I was up at Moulmein six months ago, I
came across a man I hadn't met for several years. He was a Frenchman,
who I knew had spent the most of his life away back in Burmah. He was
very flush of money at the time, and kept throwing out hints, when we
were alone, of a place he knew of where there was the biggest fortune on
earth, to be had for the mere picking up and carrying away. He had
brought away as much of it as he could, but he hadn't time to get it
all, before he was chased out by the Chinese, who, he said, were strong
in the neighbourhood."

Kitwater stopped and rubbed his hands with a chuckle. Decidedly the
recollection was a pleasant one.

"Well," he continued, "to make a long story short, I took advantage of
my opportunity, and got his secret out of him by ... well never mind how
I managed it. It is sufficient that I got it. And the consequence is I
know all that is to be known."

"That's all very well, but what became of the Frenchman? How do you know
that