"And," he continued, "was that a true story you told about it?"
"Now, Jamesby," I replied, "I really cannot endure this doubt cast upon
the truthfulness of my story. I decline to discuss the matter. You have
read the paper, and you know me as the author of the story."
"But," he added in rather a comical tone, "there are some things which
(with all due respect for your trustworthiness) call for a more positive
confirmation."
I knew I would not have written anything on so important a subject
without proper consideration; and he knew it too. However, I realized
the fact that an effort to believe such a story as I had offered to the
public may have made a somewhat weighty demand upon credulity, at least
with some people. To answer his last suggestion, I merely drew out of my
pocket a copy of the "Savannah Morning News", containing an account of a
stranger's mysterious movements about Warsaw Island near Savannah, and
his sudden disappearance, leaving good evidence that he had carried with
him a hidden treasure found there, and which tradition had stated lay
upon the Island. I also reminded him of the fact that Dutch Island near
Savannah is full of what are known as "treasure holes", which have been
made by persons seeking the buried booty of the pirates of the olden
times. He knew all about these; and he had also heard that some of the
enterprising explorers into the mysteries of that island had been
successful.
But Jamesby was still incredulous. So I turned the conversation to my
fowls; and he was very ready to admit that I had told the genuine thing
in describing to him some of the excellent points of my prize birds.
There was no doubt that I could exhibit several specimens which any
fancier would be proud of.
Jamesby remained to tea, so that we could go to the lodge together, and
I enjoyed the quiet stroll down town with him. We had hardly entered the
hall, though, before the historian of the town, who is also a leading
Mason, approached me regarding my Money Island revelations. "Sir," he
said, "I regard it throughout as a most interesting and plausible
narrative; and I am glad we have been favored by being allowed to read
it. I have made a study of the pirates who infested our coast in the
early colonial days, and I know that this section, particularly the
lower region of the Cape Fear, was a favorite rendezvous for them. It
is known upon most reliable information that there are immense
quantities of captured treasure secreted along the coast, and the wonder
is that there have not been some really serious efforts to find it."
Another gentleman added, "Yes, and they also buried treasure further
down South; for at my old home (and I speak the honest trath) I have
stood in the hole from which my friend, Mr. Coachman, unearthed
accidentally a small fortune, which gave him a very comfortable start in
life."
The conversation lingered in this absorbing vein until the meeting was
opened, much to my relief; for I had been surfeited with the subject of
money finding for that day, at least. But that was not all; for, during
the solemnity of the opening exercises, I heard some one telling, in an
undertone, of a negro who had found a roll of old bank notes in a log
which had been hauled to a saw mill to be cut.
The next day I was still aware that I possessed an unusual attraction;
and I resigned myself patiently to the service of all my inquiring
friends. Jamesby actually stopped by my office to walk up with me at
lunch time. He was willing to move along slowly with me, for now in my
old age I find I have to walk slowly. I knew it would have been more
natural for him to have gone on briskly; but he was polite and assured
me that the pleasure of my company was better than too much time spent
at his meal.
We stopped on the way at a newspaper office. The editor and proprietor
had observed our approach and they were awaiting us with looks of amused
interest. "Hello!" the proprietor said cheerily, "you have really
stimulated the enterprise of the town. Why have you kept so reticent on
that subject all these years?"
Of course, I knew what subject was referred to; for I had been living
for those two days in an atmosphere filled with the phantoms of hidden
gold, buried treasure, marvelous discoveries, pirates and other engaging
topics of thought; and I now looked for nothing else.
"In my opinion," he continued, "it was a very good story. Of course, it
goes without saying that it is true. I tell you, sir, that it is my
judgment that this whole section of coast line is rich in gold. Not only
did those pirates bury gold here, but, during the Civil War, the
Confederate blockade runners, when fearing capture, were known
repeatedly to throw gold into the sea along the beach, sometimes by the
keg full; and not one dollar's worth of it has ever yet been recovered,
so far as I can learn. It is all right there where they dropped it. And
besides that, at least on one occasion, it is a well proven fact that a
chest of gold was buried by the commander of one of the blockade runners
in the marsh grass on the shore not far below Wilmington; and there is
no evidence that it has ever yet been unearthed. In fact, all knowledge
of the exact spot has been lost, I understand."
"Yes," interposed the editor, "it is all quite reasonable; and, as
something germain to the subject, I can cite an interesting instance.
When, soon after the War our old Confederate naval captain bought his
home on Greenville Sound and was preparing to build his residence, he
had the old house which stood upon the site torn down, and, upon the
carpenters coming one morning to begin the erection of the new building,
they found an immense excavation right where the old house stood. Now,
that old building was in former years used by a Portuguese as an inn for
the entertainment of sailors from the vessels in the port of Wilmington;
and, there being certain traditions in regard to some money having been
buried beneath it, it was natural to conclude that the excavation
resulted from an energetic effort to find the money. The hole was made
at night, but by whom it has never been found out. The incident was
shrouded in a mystery which has never been cleared."
We talked still further along that vein, the editor emphatically
asserting his assured belief in the possibility of recovering quantities
of gold from the seashore below Wilmington, and from the decaying hulks
of blockade runners that rise a little here and there above the waves,
where they met a disastrous check to their efforts to slip into the
harbor.
As we started out again upon the street, Jamesby said, "Well,
sir,--pardon my frankness--but I must say that I have never found your
company so interesting before; and I shall be equally frank in saying
that--I have never been able yet to believe half the tales I have heard
about the mysterious discovery of buried treasure. There is something so
unsubstantial about most of them. Of course, there may be some
exceptions, and--"
"Jamesby," I interrupted in good humor, "don't let your frankness expire
for the lack of the proper courage. Let your speech continue during the
whole run of an honest statement. But it's all right. I have some
indisputable proofs--"
"Good morning!" It was young Riggins who joined us. "I read that story
of yours, sir. It was good, I must say. It is just like something that
happened in my own personal experience. A few months ago, I was down at
Homosassa, Florida; and, while I was there, some clam diggers discovered
a large chest of old Spanish coin. They sold them to the Government for
thirty thousand dollars, and have now retired from the clam business."
That was a tale rather to the point, and Jamesby received it soberly;
but I laughed out of sheer appreciation of another good yarn.
I did not see Jamesby for several days. I knew it was his busy season;
but I really wished to know how he fared. So, I decided to look him up.
He was a happy, enthusiastic, ingenuous young fellow, and I had become
quite accustomed to having his cheerful company occasionally.
I found him sitting at his desk in intense abstraction; but he soon
observed me standing before him, and quickly arose with a hearty
welcome, such as he alone knew how to extend.
"I tell you, sir," he said enthusiastically, "it is a magnificent
project!"
"What is?" I answered. "I don't know--"
"Oh," he continued, absently, "I forgot; it was my brother I was talking
with. But I have investigated thoroughly the whole subject of those
blockade runners, and I believe the prospect of success is worth a giant
effort for the recovery of some of that money from the sea. There must
be untold quantities of it lying there, inviting even a meagre attempt
to get it. The boats can be chartered cheaply; and I have learned that
the necessary divers can be secured on an equitable division of the
spoils. There are many details of the organization of the enterprise
which I have thought out."
His voice had an eager ring, and his eyes sparkled with interest.
"Jamesby, my boy," I answered calmly, "you are decidedly on the right
track. I wish you all good fortune."