FINDING OF THE TREASURE.
By the time we reached the scene of our gold digging operations the
greater portion of the heat of the day was passed, and we felt refreshed
and ready to commence work with a will. Steel Spring, who had promised
his valuable aid in searching for the treasure, in consideration that we
would befriend him and save his neck from the grasp of the police, had
led the way with immense strides, and a confident air that inspired us
with renewed hope and bright anticipations of success.
Upon reaching the ground we found that our shovels and picks were
undisturbed, and it was evident that no visitor had intruded during our
_lengthy absence_.
"Come, Steel Spring," I said, addressing that worthy personage, "point
out the right spot for us to dig, and then we will go to work _without
delay_."
"But I can't do that vithout some calculation and study. All great
hengineers has to investigate before vorking, and I'm no exception to
the rule."
"Why, you miserable scamp," cried Fred, angrily, "didn't you say that
you could lead us to the very spot where the treasure was buried?"
"Vell, vot if I did? Can't a man make 'stakes--and vouldn't you 'ave
said that you knew something, if a rifle vos placed agin your brains,
and a feller threatened to blow 'em hout?"
"Then you mean to say that you have imposed upon us?' I asked, coolly,
seeing that Fred was likely to get into a passion.
"No, I don't say that, 'cos tain't so; and I should but tell a lie if I
spoke in that way. A falsehood is an abomination vich I can't stand, and
I was never guilty of one," answered the fellow, with a grin which
proved how well he liked to stretch the truth.
"Explain your meaning," said Fred, "or I will hang you on a gum tree,
and use you as a scarecrow." "Vell, didn't I tell you I saw the money
buried from a distance? You don't s'pose that I would be very near when
Jim Gulpin was doing secret things, does you?"
I made no answer, and he continued,--
"I took good care to be hoff so far that he couldn't even smell me, 'cos
I knew that if I had but vinked once vithin ten rods he would have seen
me, and then vot would 'ave been the consequence?"
Fred replied that he supposed he would have been kicked in a summary
manner, and he was not sure but he deserved it.
"Had it only been kicking I could 'ave taken it very comfortably and
thought nothing of it--but no, sir, it would have been nothing of the
kind. It would 'ave been after this fashion."
He made an expressive motion with his hand across his throat, and
judging from the habits and antecedents of the illustrious bushranger,
there is but little doubt that he did wisely in placing a great distance
between them.
"Well, point out the spot which you think contains the money," I said.
"Vell, I can do that, although I'm not to be 'bused and deprived of my
supper if I don't happen to hit right."
"You shall be treated according to your merits," cried Smith, who had
listened patiently to his woes, and was amused at his impudence.
"Vell, if I is treated according to my merits it's all I vants, 'cos
I'se certain to get 'nuff to heat and drink without vorking very
hard--and vot can a gemman 'spect more in this vorld?"
We returned no answer to his suggestion, and finding that we were
disposed to be serious, and not likely to stand any more of his
nonsense, he requested permission to occupy the same place where he had
secreted himself when the bushranger buried his gold; and while one of
us walked over the clearing he thought he could tell when we reached the
exact spot. He gave as a reason that he had taken the bearings of the
place by a tree which stood on a line with the bushranger while digging.
We gratified his humor, but to prevent trickery Fred was despatched to
watch his movements and prevent escape. Steel Spring vowed and protested
that he meant honestly by us; but he was too notorious a liar to be
believed, and when he found that we would not trust him, he appeared to
be highly pleased, and considered it a proof of his sagacity and
cunning.
We watched them as they walked to the spot which Steel Spring
indicated--a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile from the clearing;
and when the fellow announced that he was ready for the test, I slowly
passed over such portions of the ground as I thought contained the
money.
Three or four times did I pass over the ashes where the bodies of the
dead bushrangers were burned, and yet I heard no indications from Steel
Spring. At last I set my compass, and walked in an exact south-eastern
direction, about ten paces from the location of the hut, and within a
dozen feet of the hole which we had already dug.
"Stop," said the long-legged biped, "don't move for your life! Vait till
I comes--you've hit it for a farding."
With springs which caused Rover to howl with jealousy, the fellow
bounded over the bushes towards us, and in a minute's time was beside
me.
"Give me the shovel!" he cried, in an excited manner. "I is certain that
you is standing on the place."
"Here is a shovel," said Smith, with a wink of mischief at us; "let us
see how soon you can bring the dust in sight."
"It won't take me long, I can tell you," replied Steel Spring, throwing
out a few shovels full and then pausing to rest, as though a new thought
had entered his long head.
"Dig away," yelled Smith, who was wielding a pickaxe with great effort.
"I was thinkin' how much better I could direct than work," said the
cunning fellow, too lazy to dig.
"Then stand aside and give me the shovel," cried Fred, impatiently.
Steel Spring willingly relinquished it, and pretending that he felt
exceedingly nervous and faint, he squatted down upon the ground and
watched with eager eyes every particle of dirt that was thrown from the
hole.
Before we got fairly to work the sun had set, and the shades of night
began to be thrown upon the dark forest of gum trees by which we were
surrounded. We had wasted so much time talking and listening to Steel
Spring, that the afternoon had passed away almost imperceptibly. To be
caught in the woods over night was a joke which we did not care about
indulging in, and we made strenuous exertions to complete our task
before darkness had entirely set in.
Already had we piled up a large mound of earth, and excavated a hole big
enough to bury an ox, and yet nothing was to be seen of the treasure;
and as each additional shovel full of dirt was thrown up I began to grow
discouraged, and felt that I had been deceived, and almost cursed the
folly which led me to believe in the dying declaration of the
bushranger.
"I don't see any use in digging here," said Smith, pausing, and wiping
the perspiration from his heated brow; "the dirt we are removing now has
not been disturbed since the formation of the island. If there is any
gold dust buried in this clearing, we must search in another direction."
"But haven't I told you that you was in the right spot?" ejaculated
Steel Spring.
"Keep your advice for those who ask it," returned Smith, bluntly, want
of success having made him cross.
"Vell, haven't you all been haxing me, and don't I tell vere the money
is? If you 'spect to get it, you must vork."
"Then take hold of this pickaxe, and see how you like it. Jump into the
hole without a word, or I'll help you with my heavy hand!" cried Smith,
somewhat irritated.
Steel Spring would have hesitated, but a glance at the face of his
opponent decided him, and, with many a groan, he entered the hole and
commenced working.
The rest of us discussed the propriety of suspending labor until
morning, as the evening was so far advanced that it was impossible to
see half a dozen yards from our faces. Fred and myself were opposed to
cessation, as we knew that we were in a dangerous part of the country,
and how soon we should be interrupted by gangs of bushrangers it was
hard to tell. The forest was full of outlaws--desperate men, who would
shed blood freely for the sake of gold or revenge, and should we be
surprised, there was no possibility of escape.
Under these circumstances, we urged that we had better work that night,
dark as it was, than remain there two or three days, and expose our
lives needlessly.
During the time that we were debating the question, Steel Spring was
apparently busy at work, although I noticed that he paid considerable
attention to what was going on, and listened to every word uttered with
an interest that appeared unaccountable. I thought it was from
curiosity, and did not call any one's attention to it; but when I
suggested that a small fire should be made, so that its light would
enable us to work to more purpose, to my surprise he urged the advantage
of the scheme, and was clamorous for the privilege of tending it.
The project was dismissed as soon as formed, for I recollected that the
light of a fire would attract visitors that we were not anxious to see.
As a last resort, however, we resolved to go over the whole ground, and
endeavor to detect the spot, by discovering if the earth had been
recently removed.
We no longer placed confidence in the story of Steel Spring, yet we
thought it better to keep him at work in the hole, which was now even
with his neck, than permit him to mingle with us in the dark, for
somehow, we began to have strange suspicions that he was not dealing
fairly by us.
Luckily, the sky was cloudless, and the stars shone with uncommon
brilliancy, as though the constellations wished to afford us every
facility for carrying our designs into effect.
The clearing was sufficiently large to enable the light to penetrate the
open space, and with no other guide, we commenced striking our shovels
and picks into the earth, in hopes of reaching the right spot.
I still clung to the idea that the money was buried under the ashes of
the burned bushrangers, and with this impression, carefully scraped them
aside, and felt with the point of my shovel, until I touched earth which
I considered had been disturbed.
I said nothing to my companions, but worked diligently for a few
minutes, until I became convinced that the ground had been moved at no
distant day.
Wishing to be convinced that I was on a track which corresponded with
the last words of Gulpin, I set the compass, and by the light of a
match, noted its bearing.
The place where I had been at work bore in a south-west direction, and
on pacing off the distance where the hut stood, I found it to be exactly
ten paces.
"Hurrah, boys!" I shouted, commencing work with renewed energy, "I think
that I have discovered the spot!"
My comrades hurried to my side, and all of us concentrated our energies
upon that particular spot, and none worked harder than the aged convict,
who appeared, since his recovery from the effects of too intense an
application to my flask, to be desirous of making amends for his
weakness.
"You are not vorking in the right place!" shouted Steel Spring, from his
excavation, stopping his labors to watch our movements; "you will find
nothing there, I gives you varning. Come and hassist me, and we shall
find all the gold!"
"Cease your cries," said Smith, sternly; "do you wish to bring a band of
bushrangers upon us in this lonely spot, where they can murder us
without opposition?"
"There's no fear of 'um," retorted the fellow, raising his voice to an
unnecessary pitch; "but listen to my varning--you'll find not a bit of
gold there."
We paid no attention to his words, but worked with energy, and while
Smith examined with his hands every shovelful of dirt that was thrown
out, so that we should not miss any thing, Fred and myself dug along the
edges of the ground, carefully, yet rapidly.
Still Steel Spring persisted in calling to us that we were wasting time,
and that we should find nothing; and just as he echoed his words for the
third or fourth time, my shovel struck upon some tough substance.
Breathless with hope, I stooped and felt of it with my hands, and to my
joy I discovered a small canvas bag, which appeared to be stuffed with a
heavy substance, for I found some trouble in lifting it.
"I have found it!" I cried, so excited that I could hardly stand;
"here--feel of it, lift it, and see if its contents are not gold!"
I was about handing the bag to Fred, when a wild, shrill scream,
apparently proceeding from our very midst, was heard, startling us by
its unnatural character.
Fred dropped the bag, and sprang for his rifle, which was lying near
him, ready for use, while Smith and the stockman appeared paralyzed with
terror.
"For God's sake what noise was that?" asked the stockman.
Before we could reply, we heard an answering yell, which appeared to be
distant about a quarter of a mile, while near at hand, the rustling of
the bushes showed that either an enemy or a wild beast was regarding our
movements.
"Who goes there?" cried Fred, bringing his rifle to his shoulder.
There was no reply, but I thought I detected a chuckling laugh which
sounded familiar. Before I could interpose, Fred had fired at the moving
bushes, and for a brief second the clearing was lighted up with the
flash of his rifle. I glanced towards the hole in which Steel Spring had
been at work; it was empty; that notorious liar and singular genius had
made himself scarce.
Hardly had the echo of the rifle died away, before another yell, more
searching and protracted than the first, again started our party, for it
seemed to proceed from a tree not more than a rod distant; even the
hound appeared disconcerted at the noise, and seemed undecided whether
to attack or wait for more decided manifestations.
"God be with us," cried the stockman, suddenly grasping his
long-barrelled gun; "let us make the best of our way from the forest, or
by morning we shall not be alive."
"Of what are you afraid?" demanded Fred. "A wolf cannot harm you, and
at the worst, a wildcat or two are no match for us well-armed men."
"There are no wolves on the island, and wildcats are unknown," replied
the stockman, calmly.
"Then name the animals which produced those screams," cried Fred.
"I wish that they were animals," rejoined the stockman, "for then there
would be hope for us miserable sinners. The screams which we have heard
are produced by men bent upon destruction."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that we have been duped by Steel Spring to reveal the burial
place of the treasure, and that now, in answer to his signal, a band of
murderers are already enclosing us in their meshes, and in a few
minutes, unless we act with promptness and prudence, we shall be in
their power."
"We will sell our lives dearly, at all events," muttered Fred, "and
sooner than their blood-stained hands shall grasp this gold, we will
lose it forever."
Again we heard a chuckling laugh amid the bushes, and angry at the
imposition of the long-legged scamp, I raised my rifle, and guided by
the noise, let drive its contents. A yell of agony, such as is often
uttered by a wounded man, met our ears, and I rejoiced to think that I
had punished his treachery.
"God be merciful to him a sinner," exclaimed the pious old stockman.
"You have punished him for his tricks," said Fred; but almost before he
had finished the sentence, a scream of sardonic laughter, in a different
direction, proved that he was uninjured.
Again did we hear shrill, prolonged yells from several parts of the
forest, and from their distinctness we knew that the bands of
bushrangers, or whoever were the utterers, were gradually closing in
upon us, and to stay where we were for half an hour was certain
destruction.
The light was not sufficient to see each other's faces, but I had but
little doubt, from the manner in which my friends grasped their weapons
and examined their contents, that they were determined to sell their
lives as dearly as possible.
"I am an old man," sighed the stockman, "and of little use on earth, and
were I but certain that my child would be cared for, feel that I should
be content to die."
"Die?" repeated Fred, cheerfully; "your sight is still good, and your
hand does not tremble. A bushranger at forty rods is as good as slain
when you draw a bead on him, and yet you talk of yielding up your life
because we have been caught in a trap by a crafty spy."
"Man's destiny is like--"
"Spare your proverbs," exclaimed Fred, impatiently, "until we are in a
place of safety. I feel like making my way out of these woods as fast as
possible, and if I have got to cut through a line of robbers I shall
leave my mark before completing the job."
"Then let us lose no time," Smith said, speaking after a profound
silence. "I can hear the devils calling to each other as they make their
way through the forest, and if we wait for their arrival we shall be
hemmed in on every point."
Even while Smith was speaking, we could hear the calls of Steel Spring,
repeated in rapid succession, as though urging his comrades to renewed
exertion. I raised the heavy bag of gold to my shoulder, and away we
went, tramping through the bushes, stumbling over decayed trees, and
bumping heavily against growing ones. Every few minutes we halted and
listened attentively; yet strange to say, not a sound was to be heard
except quick breathing and beating of hearts. The stillness seemed worse
than the noise, for during the latter we were enabled to define the
position of our opponents, and knew that they were at arm's length; but
now, when every thing was quiet around us, we knew not but our next step
might bring us under their fire, and then farewell to life and fortune.
"Forward," whispered Fred; and on we struggled, the forest apparently
growing more dense at every step, and at length we seemed so surrounded
with impenetrable thickets that we were obliged to halt and consult as
to the best route to the team, which we were anxious to reach.
Suddenly the cracking of a twig beneath the foot of a man who appeared
to be making his way in the direction from which we came, started us.
Rover uttered a short growl, and would have sprung upon him, but Fred
held the brute with hands of iron and whispered a word of caution, and
then the dog became mute as stone.
The invisible robber continued on his way towards the clearing, passing
so near us that it seemed as though we might have touched him, had we
been so disposed. He evidently was on the lookout for our party, for he
would stop and listen attentively, and then proceed with careful and
certain steps.
We waited until he was beyond hearing, and then extricated ourselves
from the thicket and continued our course. For more than two hours we
toiled and worked, until at length we saw an opening through the trees.
With eager but careful steps we moved towards it, thinking that the
worst part of our expedition was over, and I was just about to throw the
gold to the earth and thank God for our escape, when I looked up and saw
that we were at the very point from whence we started--that we were
standing on the edge of the clearing, and that directly in front of us
were twenty or thirty bushrangers, with levelled muskets, evidently
taking our bearing with great familiarity.