THE ISLAND.

Standing on as we were going, we ratched past the island until it was

left a couple of miles astern of us, when we tacked ship, and brought

the land on our lee beam. Then, steering full and by, half an hour's

sailing sufficed to bring the summit of the hill to the required

compass-bearing of south-east, half-south, whereupon we bore dead away

for it, and, leaving O'Gorman in charge of the deck, I sprang into the

fore rigging and mounted to the crosstrees, from which commanding

elevation I intended to con the brig to her anchorage. Miss Onslow was

on deck by this time, drinking in, with eager, flashing eyes, the beauty

and brilliant colour of the picture presented by the emerald island in

its setting of sapphire sea; but as I sprang into the rigging I noticed

that her gaze followed me; and when I swung myself out to clamber over

the rim of the top--a performance which, to the eye of the landsman,

appears distinctly hazardous--she suddenly clasped her hands upon her

breast, as though in terror for my safety. The action was trifling

enough, perhaps, yet I was disposed to regard it as not quite

insignificant, since I had often stood by her side as she had watched--

with evidently no stronger emotion than amusement--others perform the

same feat.

Upon reaching my perch I found that we were still in deep water, no sign

whatever of the bottom being visible through the depths of the

exquisitely beautiful, clear, crystalline blue; but ahead, at the very

fringe of the breakers that were dashing themselves into diamond and

pearl-white spray upon the stubborn rampart of the barrier reef, there

was a change of colour that told of shoaling depths; and a qualm of

anxiety swept over me as I pictured to myself what would probably happen

if, sweeping in before the wind as we were, we should plunge into that

belt of seething white water, and find that there was not depth enough

to float us. For a few minutes I was full of anxiety; but presently, as

we slid nearer and nearer still to the reef, I detected the opening--a

narrow passage barely wide enough, apparently, for a boat to traverse,

but of unbroken water, merely flecked here and there with the froth of

the boil on either hand. We were running as straight for it as though

it had been in sight for an hour; and as we were following the

directions given in O'Gorman's paper, this fact seemed to point to an

accurate knowledge of the place on the part of the author of those

directions; which assumption I fervently hoped would be confirmed in

every particular.

As we bore rapidly down upon the reef, the passage through it gradually

assumed its true proportion of width, and I saw that there was ample

room to allow of the passage, not only of the brig, but of a couple of

line-of-battle ships abreast. The island had the appearance of being

simply the topmost ridge of a mountain rising with a tolerably even

continuous slope from the bottom of the sea; and the barrier reef was

merely an excrescence or wall of coral built on to one side of it, and

founded at a depth of ten fathoms below the surface of the ocean, as our

lead presently told us. The basin thus formed had, during the course of

ages, become partially filled with sand, forming a beautifully smooth,

and even white floor, gradually sloping upward toward the surface from

the reef to the shore of the island. All this was quite plain to me as

we drove in through the break in the long, sweeping circle of foam; and,

once in still water, I was able from my perch to see the sandy bottom as

clearly as though it had been bare of water, every tiny fish and every

fragment of weed that passed within a hundred feet of us being perfectly

visible.

Once fairly through the opening in the reef and into the basin, we

hauled up to south a quarter west, which course brought our jib-boom

pointing to what then had the appearance of the mouth of an

insignificant stream. But as we slid athwart the basin the opening

assumed an appearance of increasingly greater importance, until when

within half a mile of it I saw that it was really the comparatively

narrow entrance of a fairly spacious little bay, or loch, penetrating

for some distance into the land. Soon afterwards the big rock mentioned

in O'Gorman's document separated itself from the background of bush and

trees with which it had hitherto been merged, and proclaimed itself as

an obelisk-like monolith of basalt rearing its apex to a height of some

ninety feet above the water level. When fairly abreast of this the

canvas was clewed up, and the brig slid into the loch with the way that

she had on her. This loch, or channel, wound gradually round for a

length of about a cable, and then widened into a nearly circular lagoon

about half a mile in diameter, in the very centre of which stood a small

islet, thickly overgrown with trees and dense jungle. Keeping this

islet on our starboard beam, at a distance of some twenty fathoms, we

slowly circled round it until it was immediately between us and the

outlet to the larger lagoon, when we let go our anchor in four fathoms,

amid the exultant cheers of the men, who thus found themselves

triumphantly at their destination. That we actually had found the

identical island referred to in O'Gorman's paper there could be no

shadow of doubt, since the landmarks mentioned agreed perfectly; and my

strongest emotion was one of surprise that an island of such dimensions

should thus far have escaped the notice of the hydrographers.

All hands now went to breakfast; and when the men again turned to, upon

the conclusion of their meal, their first act was to swarm aloft and

unbend the whole of the canvas, from the royals down--a proceeding which

seemed to confirm my previous surmise that they intended their sojourn

upon the island to be of some duration. This task occupied them the

entire morning; but when they knocked off at eight bells for dinner, the

brig's spars and stays were entirely denuded of their canvas. The

Irishman had some little difficulty in persuading his satellites to go

to work again after dinner, there being a very evident tendency on the

part of all hands to take matters easily now, after their long spell at

sea; but he eventually got them out from the shadow of the bulwarks and

upon their feet again, when the boats were all lowered, the entire stock

of the brig's sails, new and old, struck into them, the spare booms

launched overboard and towed ashore; and the remainder of the day was

spent in erecting tents upon a small open patch of grass, upon the

mainland--if I may so call it--that happened to be immediately abreast

the brig. Miss Onslow and myself were thus left alone together on

board, nobody seeming to take either of us into consideration in the

making of their arrangements. There were arguments both in favour of

and against this arrangement; for instance, our cabins aboard the brig

were unpleasantly hot and stuffy in the parallels that we had now

reached, and I had no doubt that we should have found sleeping ashore in

a nice, airy tent very much more comfortable; but on the other hand, if

we were to be allowed to occupy the brig we should at least be by

ourselves, and the risk of nocturnal intrusion would be very much less;

I was therefore disposed to consider that, on the whole, matters were

more satisfactory as they were. Yet it went against the grain with me

that we should be so completely ignored, and our comfort and convenience

so completely neglected, by a crowd of graceless, unmannerly louts, and

I was casting about for some means whereby I could compel at least a

reasonable measure of consideration from them, when fortune unexpectedly

intervened to help me. It happened in this wise.

After conveying ashore the sails and spars, and erecting the tents, the

men came off to the brig again, and took ashore their chests and

belongings generally, together with an abundant supply of food, and a

still more abundant supply of liquor, with the natural result that a

regular drunken orgy occurred that night, of such a character as to

compel my gratitude that Miss Onslow was not an occupant of any portion

of that camp. As it was, I deemed it only prudent to maintain a watch

until the riot ashore had ceased, and the rioters had safely subsided

into a drunken slumber. But my companion and I had to prepare our

evening meal for ourselves, that night, or we should have gone

supperless to our cabins. And, in like manner, we also had to prepare

our own breakfast next morning.

That simple meal was over some considerable time before there was any

stir or sign of movement in the camp on shore; but at length the cook

appeared, still, apparently, in a semi-drunken condition, and by and by

we saw the men sitting down to breakfast. They occupied an

unconscionably long time over their meal, and when it was over most of

the party lit their pipes and staggered away back into the sheltering

shade of their tents again. There were two or three exceptions, one of

whom was O'Gorman, who, after lighting his pipe, strolled down to the

water's edge with a paper in his hand that looked very much like the

paper from which he had quoted the instructions for making the island,

and which he appeared to be studying most intently, with a dubious air

that, even as I watched him, rapidly changed into one of

steadily-increasing perplexity.

At length, with a gesture of savage impatience, he folded up the paper,

slipped it into his breast-pocket, and went off to the tent, from which

he presently emerged again followed by two very sick-and-sorry,

unwilling-looking members of his gang. The trio tumbled into one of the

boats, shoved off, and headed directly for the brig. Miss Onslow was on

deck with me, but as soon as I saw that the little party intended

boarding the brig, I directed her attention to their condition, and

requested her to retire out of sight to her cabin, which she did, very

submissively, somewhat to my surprise.

The distance from the shore to the brig was but short, and in a few

minutes the boat was alongside, and O'Gorman on deck, his two companions

electing to spare themselves the fatigue of dragging themselves up the

brig's side, and stretching themselves out upon the thwarts instead,

with their caps drawn over their faces, in which position they almost

immediately fell asleep.

It was evident from O'Gorman's embarrassed manner as he approached me

that he had something to say, or some proposition to make, without

exactly knowing how best to set about it. It seemed to me that he had

unexpectedly found himself in some way at a serious disadvantage, but

was anxious above all things to prevent my discovering his predicament.

Then he was civil, which I had learned to accept as an unerring

indication that he wished to inveigle me into consciously or

unconsciously rendering him a service.

"The top o' the mornin' to ye, misther," he began. "I hopes that you

and the lady slept well last night, in this quiet, snug little harbour;

havin' the brig all to yourselves, too."

"Ay," retorted I; "and having to prepare our own supper last night, and

our breakfast this morning. As for quiet, the place is quiet enough; it

is the drunken blackguards occupying it that make all the row. Oh yes,

we slept well enough, thank you--after the crowd ashore had guzzled

themselves into a state of drunken insensibility."

"Begorra, thin," he exclaimed, in affected surprise, "did the shpalpeens

keep ye awake? Whoy, Oi'd have thought you'd have heard the sorra a

sound out here. But it's not goin' to happen again; it was just a bit

of a jollification we threated ourselves to upon the strength of

foindin' the oiland all right; but there'll be no more of it--barrin',

maybe, a bit of a spree when our work's done here, and we're ready to

sail for home again. And, as to your breakfast, bedad Oi forgot it

intoirely, but Oi'll send the shteward off, wid ordhers that he's to do

nothin' but just wait upon ye and the lady, and make things comfortable

for ye."

"What the mischief does he want me to do for him?" wondered I. "It must

be something of especial moment, or he would never be so extraordinarily

civil and obliging!"

But I merely answered:

"Thanks! It was part of our agreement, you will remember, that we were

to be properly looked after, and waited upon. And, while we are upon

the subject, there is another matter I should like to mention. It is

exceedingly close and stuffy below, in this climate, and I should

therefore like to have an awning, or something of the kind, rigged up

abaft here, so that I may be able to arrange sleeping places on deck for

Miss Onslow and myself while we are lying here."

"An awning is it?" exclaimed O'Gorman, with effusion. "Begorra ye shall

have that same, and welcome as the flowers of spring. Ay, and Oi'll

send ye off a topsail to throw over the spanker-boom and so make ye two

illigant staterooms, one on each side the deck."

"It certainly must be some very extraordinary service that he wishes me

to render him!" thought I. But I answered:

"Very well. As soon as the people are sober enough to behave

themselves, send them off with the canvas and some lashing, and I will

tell them what I want done."

"Oi'll do that same," answered O'Gorman. "And now," he continued, "I

suppose you and the lady 'd loike a run ashore, wouldn't ye?"

"Yes, certainly," I answered, "but not to-day. We will wait until

everybody has had time to get completely sober again. I do not choose

that the lady should be subjected to the annoyance of encountering, and

perhaps being insulted by, some half-drunken lout. But you will not

require all the boats, I suppose, so you had better send off the

smallest one, with a pair of oars, that we may have the means of going

to and from the ship and the shore at our own pleasure, and

independently of your people."

This was too much for the fiery temper of the Irishman; genial and

obliging as he had striven to be, it had been clearly apparent to me

that he was growing increasingly restive under the lengthening list of

my demands, and now this cool requisition of a boat was the last straw

that broke the camel's back--or, in other words, exhausted the

Irishman's slender stock of patience; he looked at me with blazing eyes

for a moment, and then rapped out:

"Boat is it, thin? The divil a boat will I let ye have; if ye want a

boat, go ashore and build one for yoursilf. And go to the divil and get

your awning, and your canvas, and your lashings, and your cook, too,

begorra! for sorra a one of anny of thim will ye get from me! I was a

fool to promise ye annything, but I wanted your help, and I thought Oi'd

get it by humourin' ye. But _now_, be jabers, Oi'll _make_ ye help me,

whither ye like it or not; and the divil a thing will I do for ye in

return!"

"What is it you want me to do for you?" asked I quietly, determined to

keep my temper whatever might happen, and curious to know what service

it could possibly be that had caused the fellow to constrain himself so

far in the endeavour to conciliate me.

"I want ye to do this--and, understand me, ye'll _have_ to do it,

whither it plaises ye or not," he answered. "There's a spot somewhere

on that bit of an oiland,"--indicating the small islet opposite which

the brig was moored--"that I want to find. Whin I first read the paper

that speaks of it, it seemed the simplest thing in the worruld to come

here and put me fut on it; but now that Oi'm here, and have seen the

place, by me sowl I can't see or understand how Oi'm to go about it.

And no more can anny of the rest of us. So the long and the short of it

is, misther, that you'll have to find the place for us."

"What do your instructions direct you to do?" demanded I.

"My instructions, is it?" repeated O'Gorman. "Oh, begorra, they're

simple enough. They say,"--here he paused, fumbled in his

breast-pocket, and presently produced the dirty, greasy slip of paper,

with the appearance of which I was now becoming familiar, and carefully

unfolding it, read:

"`Dhraw a loine from one black rock to the other, and on this loine

project another to the summit of the peak, makin' an angle of

sixty-foive degrees to the west'ard. Dig there, and,'--well, the rest

has got nothing to do with it."

"Um!" said I musingly; "I am not surprised to learn that none of you men

can understand such directions as those; I am not at all sure that I

understand them myself. At the same time there is hint enough to put me

on the right track. And now, O'Gorman," continued I, throwing all the

impressiveness I could muster into my manner, "I want you to listen to

me, and mark well what I say, for I am in downright earnest, and no

mistake. I gather, from the whole drift of this adventure, that your

object in coming here is to hunt for a certain buried treasure, the

hiding-place of which is indicated on that paper in your hand. Now, I

have brought you to this spot, and it is exceedingly probable that I may

be able to help you to find the treasure--if it is still where it was

originally hidden--while I am absolutely certain that you will _never_

find it without my help--and, when all is done, I can help you to convey

your booty successfully home. Now, understand me, I want no reward

whatever, either in the shape of a share of the treasure, or otherwise,

for affording you this assistance; but I tell you plainly that I will

have respectful treatment, and perfect freedom, both for myself and for

the lady, together with every one of those little comforts and

conveniences for which I have asked. Stop, I have not finished yet," I

continued, as I saw that he was about to bluster. "You have been

labouring under the delusion, all along, that Miss Onslow's presence

among us affords you an effective means of coercing me to do certain

things for you. Now, it is time that such an impression should be

removed. I am perfectly willing to help you in any and every way, so

long as we are both treated with civility and consideration; but if you,

or any one of your men, should dare to molest Miss Onslow in any way, or

show her the slightest incivility, from that moment I will cease to help

or do anything whatever for you--which means, that even should you

succeed in obtaining the treasure that you are after, you will never be

able to take it home and enjoy it. Now, think over what I have said,

and let me know your decision as soon as you have made up your mind.

But do not you ever again attempt to coerce me by uttering threats of

violence to the lady, for it will not do! My chief stipulation is that

she shall be as absolutely secure from insult or injury among you as

though she were under the protection of her father's roof, and I mean

that she shall be so, or I will send the whole lot of you to the devil,

even if I have to accompany you."

To defy the whole gang in so uncompromising a manner was undoubtedly a

bold game to play, but it proved to be the right thing to do; for as I

stared the Irishman unshrinkingly in the eyes I saw his gaze wavering

under mine, and presently his scowling expression relaxed into a smile

as he exclaimed:

"Begorra, Misther Conyers, ye're a brave man intoirely to brazen the

thing out in that stoyle, one against sixteen of us. But it's yourself

that knows right well that ye've got the pull of us, by raison of your

eddicashin, so I suppose we may as well let ye have your own way, and

make no more bones about it. All we want is your help to find the

threasure and get it safely home; and if ye'll give us that ye may have

your own way in ivery thing else; it'll make no real differ to us."

"Very well," said I; "you are now speaking like a reasonable and

sensible man, and it is a bargain between us that I shall afford you the

fullest possible assistance to carry out your schemes--so far as they

may be lawful--upon the terms and conditions which I have stipulated.

Now, if you will let me have your paper, in order that I may study it as

a whole, I shall perhaps be able to gather the writer's full meaning,

and thus enable you to find the exact spot of which you are in search.

Meanwhile, you had better go ashore again, and give your immediate

attention to the few little matters that I mentioned just now, before

you lost your temper."

The fellow hesitated a moment, gazing doubtfully and still somewhat

distrustfully at me, and then, with a sigh, handed over the paper to my

keeping. Then, without a word, he turned away, went down over the side

into his boat, and was forthwith pulled ashore.

As the boat shoved off from the brig's side, I opened the paper and

glanced at its contents. The complete document read as follows:--

"Latitude 2 degrees 48 minutes 40 seconds South. Longitude 144 degrees

10 minutes 10 seconds West. Approach island from north-west, and stand

toward it with summit of hill bearing South-East by a half South, which

leads through the passage in the barrier reef. Then haul up to South by

a quarter West for the mouth of the bight at the bottom of the bay.

Stand boldly in until abreast of the big rock at the mouth of the bight,

when clew up and furl everything. Follow the bight until you reach the

lagoon, when anchor anywhere not closer than within a dozen fathoms of

the island. The gems are buried in the earth at a spot which may thus

be identified. Draw a line from one black rock to the other; and on

this line project another to the summit of the peak, making an angle of

sixty-five degrees to the westward. Dig there, and the gems will be

found at a depth of three feet below the surface. I write this that the

treasure may not be lost should I die ere I find opportunity to secure

it.

"John Withicombe."

The document was written in the calligraphy of an evidently educated

man; and now that I had it in its complete form in my hands I began to

regard the whole matter in a very different light from what I had

hitherto done; up to now I had been disposed to regard the adventure as

one that was more than likely to prove a wild-goose chase; but as I

noted the evidences of intelligence and education that the document

revealed on the part of the writer it suddenly dawned upon me that after

all there might be something in it. But who was John Withicombe, and

how did he become acquainted with the existence of the treasure? Did he

hide it himself, or did he discover its whereabouts by accident? And

where did the treasure come from?

I was still puzzling over these questions when I was startled out of my

reverie by a light step beside me; and, turning, I beheld Miss Onslow

regarding me with eyes so brilliant that I could almost fancy they were

gemmed with tears.

"So," she exclaimed playfully, "you have been fighting another wordy

battle with that Irish wretch; and this time, having kept your temper

under control, you have emerged victorious from the conflict. But oh,

Mr Conyers," she continued, her voice suddenly changing to a tone of

deep earnestness, "I cannot express to you how profoundly sorry I am

that you should thus continually be harassed and worried on my account--

oh yes, I heard everything; I was in the cabin, and the skylight was

open, so I could not help hearing what passed. I know that these men

are taking advantage of my presence to coerce and terrorise you by means

of threats of violence toward me, and I cannot help feeling how

dreadfully you are hampered and embarrassed by having me to look after

and protect. But you have never wavered or faltered for one instant,

you have forgotten all about yourself and have thought wholly and only

of me; and--and--I think it only right you should know how greatly I

appreciate your goodness, and--how--how--grateful I am for all that you

have done and are still doing for me."

There undoubtedly _were_ tears in her eyes as she concluded; but a

certain wild, delirious hope, that had half formed itself as I noted the

enthusiasm with which she had begun her speech, died out again as she

faltered and hesitated, and finally concluded in as sober, impassive,

conventional a tone as though she had been thanking me for procuring a

cab for her on a rainy night. I hastened to assure her that she was

quite mistaken in supposing that her presence aboard the brig was an

embarrassment to me; that, on the contrary, it was the only pleasant

feature of the whole adventure, so far as I was concerned; and then,

fearing lest her gracious mood should tempt me to say more than she

would be willing to listen to, I hastily turned the conversation toward

O'Gorman's document, which I placed in her hands, asking her to read it

and tell me what she thought of it.

She read it carefully through once, and then handed it back to me with

the remark:

"I think it is perfectly genuine--everything appears to point in that

direction--and I have no doubt whatever that the gems will be found in

the spot indicated."

"I am now inclined to that opinion myself," said I. "But how is the

spot indicated to be found? The writer, you will observe, mentions two

black rocks, but he furnishes no clue whatever as to their whereabouts.

Where are we to look for these rocks? and how are we to identify them?"

"That particular passage," answered she, "is, I admit, decidedly

obscure. Yet I think the context furnishes a clue to its elucidation.

It reads thus:--`anchor anywhere not closer than within a dozen fathoms

of the island,'--which I take to mean this small island, or islet,

opposite us. The island was evidently the most prominent object in the

writer's mind when he penned the words immediately following those that

I have just quoted; and I therefore conclude that it is somewhere in

that small island--a most suitable hiding-place, I think you will

admit--that the treasure lies concealed. And it is there also, I think,

that the two black rocks should be searched for. As to how the rocks

are to be identified, the writer speaks of them in such a manner as to

suggest that there is no possibility of mistaking them; and I therefore

infer that there are two rocks--_and two only_--that can possibly be

associated with the instructions given in the paper."

"Yes," said I; "I quite see your line of reasoning; and I believe you

are right. At all events, the suggestion is so reasonable that it is

quite worth following; and it is upon those lines that I shall advise

O'Gorman to go to work. Ah, by Jove! look there! I believe the fellow

actually means to stick to his bargain at last: here come the men with

the sails and so on that I have asked for; and to-night I hope you will

be able to rest in comparative coolness out here on deck, with an

awning, and all other proper shelter from the dew."

The boat, with half a dozen hands in her, was soon alongside, and by

midday we had not only an awning spread over the whole of the

after-deck, from the taffrail to the mainmast, but also a spacious

canvas sleeping-tent under it, divided into two compartments, and so

arranged that my companion might enjoy the most absolute privacy. The

steward also came off, and resumed possession of his usual quarters, and

as he was one of the quietest and most respectable men of the party, was

as good a cook as "the doctor" himself, and seemed genuinely anxious to

do his best for us, it soon appeared as though we were about to be

favoured with a spell of peace and quietness.

Meanwhile, O'Gorman religiously refrained from obtruding himself upon us

until I had dismissed the boat's crew upon the completion of their

labours, when he came aboard, ostensibly to ascertain whether everything

had been done to my satisfaction, but actually--as I soon discovered--to

claim the assistance that I had undertaken to afford him. And this, of

course, I was more than ready to give, now that I had obtained from him

what I wanted, being feverishly anxious to bring the entire adventure to

a conclusion as speedily as possible, in order that I might be free to

convey Miss Onslow in all safety and honour to her father's arms. So I

threw myself heartily into the spirit of the search, accompanying

O'Gorman and a search-party to the islet, and actively participating in

a hunt for the two black rocks. But, after persevering for more than

three hours, it became evident that the little spot was so completely

overgrown with tangled, impenetrable jungle that but one course was open

to us, that of clearing the ground by cutting down and destroying the

network of creepers that choked up the spaces between the tree-trunks.

This proved to be a lengthy and arduous undertaking, it being necessary

to cut the undergrowth away in blocks, as it were, and then drag the

detached masses to the water's edge and tumble them overboard. But

after four days of this work, at the end of which there was very little

result to show for our labour, we found evidences of the islet having at

some previous period been cleared by means of fire, the workers having

encountered several charred and blackened tree-stumps; so we determined

to adopt a similar course, the vegetation being dry and in excellent

condition for such an experiment. Accordingly, the undergrowth was

attacked with knives and axes on the weather side of the island, and the

detached masses, instead of being hove overboard, were allowed to remain

and thoroughly dry in the sun. Then, when our accumulation of dry

brushwood seemed sufficient for our purpose, it was set alight, and in

half an hour the entire island was a blazing mass, there being just wind

enough to fan the flames and cause them to spread. In two hours the

operation was complete, the once verdant and beautiful spot having been

converted into an ugly patch of flat and fire-blackened soil, some fifty

acres in extent, with two conspicuous outcrops of black rock protruding

from the ashes and debris of the conflagration.

There was very little doubt in my mind that the two outcrops of rock

rendered visible by the destruction of the vegetation upon the islet

were those referred to by John Withicombe, and I said as much to

O'Gorman, whose impatience to test the truth of my conviction was such

that he would have had me go to work with my rods and sextant that same

afternoon; but when we attempted to land upon the islet we found that

although the ashes were black on the surface they were still a dull

glowing red in the heart of them, and so hot that they were not yet to

be stood upon, leaving out of the question the veil of acrid,

suffocating, blue smoke that still wreathed and curled from out them.

Our enforced detention, however, was by no means wasted time, for now

that the surface of the island was bare, and I could see what I had to

work upon, I could also see that several long, slender ranging-poles

would be necessary, and the obtaining and preparation of these kept all

hands busy for the remainder of that day. And immediately after

breakfast, next morning, I got out my sextant, and, all hands of us

landing upon the islet, we went to work with a will. First of all, I

made my way to one of the masses of rock, and climbed up on it. Both

masses had well-defined "peaks," and I came to the conclusion that the

instruction to "draw a line from one black rock to the other" would mean

that a _straight_ line must be drawn, or _ranged_, from one of these

well-defined peaks to the other. So I temporarily removed the telescope

from my sextant, and, levelling it upon the extreme peak, or highest

point of the rock I occupied, brought it to bear upon the corresponding

peak of the other rock. Then I sent a man along with instructions to

start from the other rock and walk toward me, halting whenever I raised

my hand and sticking a rod perpendicularly in the ground. I met with a

great deal more difficulty than I had anticipated in securing the

satisfactory execution of this apparently simple operation, but by

keeping the telescope levelled from the one peak and bearing upon the

other, and making the man hold the rods truly vertical, I at length

succeeded in ranging out a perfectly straight line from the one rock to

the other. Then, setting the limb of my sextant to an angle of

sixty-five degrees, and stationing myself at certain points in the

line--which I was easily able to do by means of the rods--I at length

found the exact point required, which I marked by driving a stake into

the ground. "There," said I to O'Gorman, "is your point--if my

interpretation of the instructions given in your paper is the correct

one; and at a depth of a yard or thereabouts below the surface you ought

to find your treasure. If you do not find it at this precise spot I

would recommend you to try a little to right and left, in line with the

poles that, as you see, I have left standing."