In a fortnight we had our secret room prepared, and everything was
ready to commence our search.
The Jew had informed me that the two towers were built by the great
General, some weeks after the treasure was hidden, at a time when
he had reasserted his power, and was once more in possession of the
country hereabouts. In the towers he placed watchmen and tax-gatherers,
whose duty it was to levy toll from each vessel passing up or down the
river; at least this was what he gave forth, but it was in reality to
guard the treasure lying buried in the bed of the river, which at a
convenient time he purposed recovering.
For some years he was harassed by the enemy, and at length died,
whereupon the enemy retook the country, and the new ruler, not being
aware of the treasure buried in the river, carried on the custom of
demanding toll, as he considered it a capital institution.
Years went by, men and manners changed, and the towers were neglected
and fell into decay; but around the hoary ruins many curious legends
gathered, and among others one which came very near the truth, as
it told of an ancient king, who, in flight, being hard pressed by
his pursuers, was in such haste to cross the river that the boat was
overset, the king and many others drowned, and a great deal of valuable
_spoil lost in the river_.
The Jew smiled at this particular story, and remarked that although,
like the legend, his was only hearsay, yet, as he received his account
first-hand from a friend who was _an eyewitness_ of the diversion of
the river and the subsequent burial of the treasure, there could be
but little romance about his version, which he averred was solid,
substantial fact.
“Now,” he observed in conclusion, “I am positive that the treasure was
buried midway between those two towers, but whether after the flight
of all these centuries we shall find it, or in what form we shall find
it, I cannot say; but if you are willing we will make the search, and
if successful the whole shall be yours; I require nothing! The mere
search is ample reward for me, as it serves to break the monotony of my
existence.”
We commenced diving operations in a very timid manner, or at least I
did, for although I had witnessed divers at work, I had never before
had any actual experience; still, as the Jew said, “There was no hurry.”
The first few nights were spent in fitting up the apparatus, in making
experimental dives, and in concocting a signal code that we might
understand each other, etc.
The sensation of submarine diving has so often been described that I
will not attempt to state what my feelings were at the outset of the
operations; suffice it to say that they were far from pleasant, but
with practice I soon became expert, especially as the deepest part of
the water was not more than twenty feet, so that I did not suffer much
from compression.
I quickly discovered that the bed of the river was somewhat muddy,
that is to say, there was a deposit of several inches of mud or soft
earth, resting upon a substratum of gravel. In some parts large beds of
weeds were to be seen sailing their long fronds upward to a height of
several feet: these I quickly cut away, and with great labour at length
succeeded in clearing away the upper layer of soft ooze nearly from
bank to bank, and for a width of perhaps twenty yards near the centre.
We worked four “turns” per night of an hour each, with an interval
of half-an-hour between each dive, so that we were occupied from 10
p.m. till 4 a.m., when we went to bed and slept till 10 o’clock,
beside obtaining several little daylight snoozes when all was quiet.
The Sunday was to us a true Sabbath, and no manner of work was done,
not even cooking; we reserved that day for prayer, meditation,
conversation, and much-needed rest.
We had now been working for six whole weeks, but though everything
was in perfect working order, and the river-bed was being cleared, we
had no more knowledge of the exact location of the spoil than when we
arrived three months previously.
The real toil now commenced; for digging in the river-bed had to be
undertaken at depths varying from fifteen to twenty feet beneath the
surface. To dig on dry land a hole of four or five feet in depth is a
comparatively easy task, but to dig a hole of like depth _under water_
is a most arduous undertaking, a task requiring strength, perseverance,
and much patience. Tools used under water are difficult to manage, and
by reason of the resistance of the water lose half their efficacy. For
instance, a strong man wielding a heavy hammer under water, although
he may strive his hardest, and exert his full strength, can only make
his blow of the same force that a child of ten could strike on _terra
firma_, because the water resists his arm and the fall of the hammer,
in proportion to the area of surface of his arms and the implement. I
also found that when using a spade I could only remove a portion of
a spadeful each time, as the current and swirl of water floated the
lighter particles off, leaving only the heavier pieces upon the blade
of the spade; thus digging holes in the expectation of finding the
treasure was a wearisome task, especially as I had to cease my work at
frequent intervals, to allow the turbid water, thick with sediment, to
become clear enough for me to see what I was about. Thus toiling on,
another five weeks passed wearily away, without the least trace of our
quest being discovered.
The Jew at length began to weary of pumping air to me, and I of diving
and delving, so we resolved to take a few days’ rest, and decide what
further steps we should take in our search.
The river was about forty yards wide, and although I had sunk about
a dozen pits in the bed of the stream, I had discovered absolutely
nothing.
I thought the matter carefully over each day, but could only come to
the conclusion that we were either searching in the wrong place, or
that the treasure had long since been washed away and lost. Still, I
could not imagine how even the swiftest torrent could affect or move
anything buried beneath the river-bed at a depth of four or five feet.
Then it struck me that earthquakes were not unknown in the region, and
a shock might have caused an upheaval of the river-bed, by which the
treasure might have been exposed and washed away centuries ago by some
unusually heavy flood. If this had happened, was it not also probable
that the stumps of the two towers would have been rent and cracked in
many places?
Certainly it was.
I therefore examined the ruined towers, but their foundations were
perfect, save for a few superficial fractures. I thereupon concluded
that my earthquake theory was not tenable.
I next examined the banks on each side of the river, especially the
portion immediately _between the towers and the water_, and found that
on one side, the side farthest from our hut or cottage, solid rock
formed the principal part of the bank. From the tower on that bank to
the brink of the water was a distance of just fifty feet; but the tower
on our side of the river stood within ten feet of the water, and the
foundation stood upon an ordinary layer of earth, with an under stratum
of gravel similar to the bed of the river.
My old friend and I could see nothing in this to assist us in any way;
but when I retired to rest that night I could not help asking myself
the question, “Why does one tower stand fifty feet from the water and
the other only ten?”
Was it not probable that whoever built the towers would erect them at
equal distances from the river? And again--If one tower were required
for some reason to be nearer the water than the other, would it not be
the one which was built upon the solid rock?
Over these questions I pondered and worried half through the night,
while my old comrade snored away as peacefully and regularly as he had
done any time during the past nineteen centuries.
Before I joined my companion in a nasal duet I came to the following
conclusions:--