THE HOLD
Billy’s vanity was well content with the compliments accorded him
by his friends, who gave the appreciation that was justly his due
for persistent effort when they had wearied. It was David whose
enthusiasm led him to suggest an immediate trip on the lake, to learn
whether or not they could identify the features of the topography
shown by the chart.
The launch, to which they had been reduced by the loss of the
_Scherzo_, had a speed of twelve miles an hour at its best and
under Jake’s guidance it carried them swiftly enough northward to
the broadest part of the lake, whence they might readily study the
shore in all directions. Already, each had familiarized himself
with the chart, so that it was held clearly in a mental picture,
while he looked about over the sweep of sky-line critically, seeking
some resemblance in the rise and fall of mountain and hill and in
the curving of the shore to the irregular tracing made by Billy
from the music. As the boat ran in a wide circle, first one and
then another caught here or there some trick of configuration that
sent him eagerly to compare it with the chart in Billy’s hands.
But, in each instance, the hope was doomed to swift disappointment,
for vital divergence was revealed between the two. There was some
disagreement, too, as to whether or not the map had reference to the
windings of the shore, or to the crests and valleys of the hills and
mountains, as they showed in relief against the sky. Billy Walker
was certain that the chart had been drawn to represent the sky-line,
and Saxe was of the same opinion--chiefly, perhaps, because of the
other’s reasoning in which he had come to have great confidence, if
not absolute reliance. Billy argued that the sky-line would be the
natural guide on which to depend, inasmuch as it was bolder, less
open to doubts. The indication received from this, he pointed out,
could be at once applied to the shore, since the first knowledge
gleaned had declared that the treasure was at the bed of the lake.
Both Roy and David, however, maintained that the chart should be
taken as copying the indentations in a portion of the shore-line.
David offered evidence in support of this contention to the effect
that, whatever the sky-line might show as to itself, there could come
from it no hint as to the distance from the shore at which the gold
was lying. Billy admitted this, and then to his adversary’s chagrin,
exposed the fact that the like difficulty must exist in the event of
the map being of the shore-line itself--which was not to be gainsaid.
It was Saxe, who, at last, made the discovery of importance. He had
been staring fixedly at one point of the horizon for a full minute;
then, he moved over to Billy’s side, where he alternately regarded
the chart and the horizon for a considerable interval.
“Look here, Billy!” he exclaimed, abruptly. “Just take a squint at
Mount Tabor, over there; I learned the name from Jake the other day.”
He pointed to the west, a little to the north of them, where one of
the highest of the peaks of the distant mountains loomed in naked
majesty.
Billy obeyed the request, and readily distinguished the peak to which
Saxe had called his attention.
“Well?” he questioned.
“I want you to notice, too,” Saxe continued, “that the peak is flat
on the top for some distance, and that there’s nothing of much height
to the south.”
Billy nodded in assent.
“All right,” he agreed. “Go on.”
“Now, look farther north, about two miles, or perhaps more. You see
another mountain, which seems to be almost the same height as Mount
Tabor, and is flat on top in the same way?”
There was hardly any delay before Billy answered:
“Yes, I see it. Next?”
“Well, then,” Saxe continued, with animation, “you must bear in mind
the fact that those two peaks are the highest on the whole extent of
the western shore of the lake. It is, I imagine, very likely that
anyone in search for a striking object in the landscape would select
them at the outset as guides, on account of their conspicuousness.
It’s my belief, after looking pretty closely, that Mount Tabor is
shown by the two G’s above the staff in the beginning of the gold
song. Try it running north from Mount Tabor, and compare it with
the chart, and see if you don’t find it brings you all right to the
second high mountain, which is marked by the two G’s of the second
half of the music. And then, keep on, until you come to the mountain
top, much lower, but also hog-backed, which seems to me to be
indicated by the final C’s of the score.”
Billy needed no urging. Before his friend had ceased speaking, he
had brought his whole mind to bear in considering the similarities
to which Saxe called his attention. For five minutes, he examined
first the undulant horizon line and then the chart, which he held
out-spread before him. He and Saxe were in the stern seats, while Roy
and David had places forward, discussing the shore-line, and giving
no heed to what was going on behind them. Suddenly, the voice of
Billy Walker boomed forth in its fullness:
“By Croesus, Saxe, you’ve got it! You’ve pinned the map to the
mountains! Bravo, my son!”
At the outburst, Roy and David faced about, startled. They saw the
unwieldy bulk of Billy swaying with the motion he had imparted to
the launch by leaping to his feet. He was a figure of joy, with his
little eyes glowing, his bare head a tangle of wind-tossed hair, his
harsh features softened by radiance. Even Jake had turned in his seat
at the wheel, and was rigidly expectant.
“Praise be!” Billy ejaculated, as he waved the chart high in a
gesture of triumph. “One of you, at last, has come to my help. Saxe
has run the chart to earth--literally.”
At that, there was a lively display of interest. Jake stopped the
engine, and left the launch to drift lazily, while he joined the
others for a study of the map in connection with the horizon line
discovered by Saxe. Roy and David were inclined to be somewhat
skeptical at the outset, but they were presently convinced, as they
perceived the exactness of the correspondence between mountains and
chart. There was jubilation on the part of all.
Jake introduced a topic that was lying in the mind of each.
“But I don’t understand yet jest where ’bouts that-thar money of Mr.
Abernethey’s might be,” he remarked. “What about it?”
“Our esteemed friend has touched on the very _crux_ of the matter,”
Billy declared, with a noisy sigh. “We have now attained to all
the knowledge that we require for our purposes--with a single small
exception--we don’t know where the gold is. Nevertheless, the chart
will tell us. It’s there--somewhere--Saxe has done nobly in coming
to my assistance. It seems to me that, now, it’s the turn of either
Roy or Dave.” Billy laughed, and then assumed an expression of
elephantine demureness. “Roy is something of an expert in occult
things,” he suggested, with his eyes twinkling. “It might be a good
idea for him to try his powers on this. The divining rod, in the
hands of the gifted, will locate precious metals, as well as water,
under the surface of the earth. Doubtless, it will do as much for
gold under water. It is probable that Jake can inform us as to where
witch-hazel is to be found in the woods. With a twig of that for
wand--I believe it is the accepted wood--let Roy go wandering over
the lake in the launch; let him hold the divining-rod in his hand
until it shall dip toward the water. Let a buoy be floated there to
mark the spot, and there will we dredge, and there will we bring up
the old man’s treasure.”
Roy sniffed, while Saxe and David smiled over Billy’s bombast. But
Jake took the suggestion seriously, and nodded his approval.
“Allus hearn it would find gold and silver,” he said, “but I hain’t
never seen it done. It’s fine for water, though, and that I know,
havin’ seen it work many a time. It bent, and they dug, and the water
come, and that’s all they was to it.”
Two hours after he had retired that night, Billy Walker was rudely
awakened out of a sound sleep. In a dream, which had been of a
curious, but most agreeable heaven, where he was dining on dishes
that were puzzles, each one to be solved before it could be eaten, he
was instantaneously transported to a vile groggery of the water-front
in a seaport town, where a horde of rapscallions pounced on him with
intent to shanghai. He awoke to behold in the moonlight Saxe, who
sat on the edge of the bed, jolting him violently to and fro. When
his brain was sufficiently clear, he demanded the meaning of this
outrage. The first words from his friend were consolation enough.
“Billy, I’ve found the place!”
There was no need for apology, since the disturber of his slumbers
had brought to Billy Walker the news he most desired. Instantly, he
was questioning.
“Quick! Tell me! How’d you find it! Where is it?”
Saxe laughed happily.
“I must give you one final lesson in music, to enable you to
understand. It’s so simple! I can’t guess why I didn’t get it in a
second.”
“The most obvious thing is often the most obscure,” came the oracular
paradox.
“A hold in music,” Saxe explained, “is a mark which shows that a
certain note is to be sounded for a time longer than is demanded by
its value otherwise.”
“Well?” There was excitement in the harsh whisper.
“Wait until I’ve lighted the lamp,” Saxe said. In a moment it was
done. “Now, take another glance at the gold song itself--not the
chart.” He pulled the sheet from a pocket of the dressing-gown that
he wore over his pajamas, and held it up before Billy’s face for
inspection.
[Music]
“That shaded half-circle,” Saxe went on, “with a period in the
concavity, over the second measure of the second half of the gold
song, is a hold--a hold--a hold, Billy! Don’t you understand? Isn’t
it plain? That marks the spot where the gold is--I know it does.
That’s the place where we pause, where we hang on!”
“Of course!” Billy Walker’s voice had a tone of complete
satisfaction. “You’ve done splendidly, Saxe. With much training,
I believe I might be able to make something out of your intellect.
The chart will show just what part of the shore is indicated by this
hold. The gold will be at that point--probably, close to the bank,
but certainly under the water, for the first lesson read, ‘The Bed of
the Lake.’ We shall find it without Roy’s divining-rod, after all.”