LITMIR.BIZ

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that. All openings into the cave must once have been closed up, but it would not do to hide the place so that no one could ever find it again, so they carved that great head on the rocks. Nobody, except those who had hid the treasure, would know what the face meant.”

      Edna gave a little smile and sighed. “I see it is of no use to try to get that mound out of our minds,” she said.

      “Out of our minds!” exclaimed Mrs. Cliff. “If one of the Rothschilds were to hand you a check for the whole of his fortune, would you expect to get that out of your mind?”

      “Such a check,” said Edna, “would be a certain fortune. We have not heard yet what this is.”

      “I think we are the two meekest and humblest people in the whole world!” exclaimed Mrs. Cliff, walking up and down the sand. “I don’t believe any other two persons would be content to wait here until somebody should come and tell them whether they were millionaires or not. But, of course, somebody must stay outside to keep those colored people from swarming into the cave when they come back.”

      It was not long after this that Mrs. Cliff and Edna heard the sound of quickly advancing feet, and in a few moments they were joined by Ralph and the captain.

      “Your faces shine like gold,” cried Edna. “What have you found?”

      “Found!” cried Ralph. “Why, Edna, we’ve got — ”

      “Be quiet, Ralph,” exclaimed Edna. “I want to hear what the captain has to say. Captain, what is in the mound?”

      “We went to the mound,” said he, speaking very rapidly, “and when we got to the top and lifted off that stone lid — upon my soul, ladies, I believe there is gold enough in that thing to ballast a ship. It isn’t filled quite up to the top, and, of course, I could not find out how deep the gold goes down; but I worked a hole in it as far down as my arm would reach, and found nothing but gold bars like this.” Then, glancing around to see that none of the Africans were returning, he took from his pocket a yellow object about three inches in length and an inch in diameter, shaped like a rough prism, cast in a rudely constructed mortar or mould. “I brought away just one of them,” he said, “and then I shut down the lid, and we came away.”

      “And is this gold?” exclaimed Edna, eagerly seizing the bar. “Are you sure of it, captain?”

      “I am as sure of it as I am that I have a head on my shoulders,” said he, “although when I was diving down into that pile I was not quite sure of that. No one would ever put anything but gold in such a hiding-place. And then, anybody can see it is gold. Look here: I scraped that spot with my knife. I wanted to test it before I showed it to you. See how it shines! I could easily cut into it. I believe it is virgin gold, not hardened with any alloy.”

      “And that mound full of it!” cried Mrs. Cliff.

      “I can’t say about that,” said the captain. “But if the gold is no deeper than my arm went down into it, and all pure metal at that, why — bless my soul! — it would make anybody crazy to try to calculate how much it is worth.”

      “Now, then,” exclaimed Mrs. Cliff, “whom does all this gold belong to? We have found it, but whose is it?”

      “That is a point to be considered,” said the captain. “What is your opinion?”

      “I have been thinking and thinking and thinking about it,” said Mrs. Cliff. “Of course, that would have been all wasted, though, if it had turned out to be nothing but brass, but then, I could not help it, and this is the conclusion I have come to: In the first place, it does not belong to the people who govern Peru now. They are descendants of the very Spaniards that the Incas hid their treasure from, and it would be a shame and a wickedness to let them have it. It would better stay there shut up for more centuries. Then, again, it would not be right to give it to the Indians, or whatever they call themselves, though they are descendants of the ancient inhabitants, for the people of Spanish blood would not let them keep it one minute, and they would get it, after all. And, besides, how could such treasures be properly divided among a race of wretched savages? It would be preposterous, even if they should be allowed to keep it. They would drink themselves to death, and it would bring nothing but misery upon them. The Incas, in their way, were good, civilized people, and it stands to reason that the treasure they hid away should go to other good, civilized people when the Incas had departed from the face of the earth. Think of the good that could be done with such wealth, should it fall into the proper hands! Think of the good to the poor people of Peru, with the right kind of mission work done among them! I tell you all that the responsibility of this discovery is as great as its value in dollars. What do you think about it, Edna?”

      “I think this,” said Miss Markham: “so far as any of us have anything to do with it, it belongs to Captain Horn. He discovered it, and it is his.”

      “The whole of it?” cried Ralph.

      “Yes,” said his sister, firmly, “the whole of it, so far as we are concerned. What he chooses to do with it is his affair, and whether he gets every bar of gold, or only a reward from the Peruvian government, it is his, to do what he pleases with it.”

      “Now, Edna, I am amazed to hear you speak of the Peruvian government,” cried Mrs. Cliff. “It would be nothing less than a crime to let them have it, or even know of it.”

      “What do you think, captain?” asked Edna.

      “I am exactly of your opinion, Miss Markham,” he said. “That treasure belongs to me. I discovered it, and it is for me to decide what is to be done with it.”

      “Now, then,” exclaimed Ralph, his face very red, “I differ with you! We are all partners in this business, and it isn’t fair for any one to have everything.”

      “And I am not so sure, either,” said Mrs. Cliff, “that the captain ought to decide what is to be done with this treasure. Each of us should have a voice.”

      “Mrs. Cliff, Miss Markham, and Ralph,” said the captain, “I have a few words to say to you, and I must say them quickly, for I see those black fellows coming. That treasure in the stone mound is mine. I discovered the mound, and no matter what might have been in it, the contents would have been mine. All that gold is just as much mine as if I dug it in a gold-mine in California, and we won’t discuss that question any further. What I want to say particularly is that it may seem very selfish in me to claim the whole of that treasure, but I assure you that that is the only thing to be done. I know you will all agree to that when you see the matter in the proper light, and I have told you my plans about it. I intended to claim all that treasure, if it turned out to be treasure. I made up my mind to that last night, and I am very glad Miss Markham told me her opinion of the rights of the thing before I mentioned it. Now, I have just got time to say a few words more. If there should be any discussion about the ownership of this gold and the way it ought to be divided, there would be trouble, and perhaps bloody trouble. There are those black fellows coming up here, and two of them speak English. Eight of my men went away in a boat, and they may come back at any time. And then, there were those two Cape Cod men, who went off first. They may have reached the other side of the mountains, and may bring us assistance overland. As for Davis, I know he will never come back. Maka brought me positive proof that he was killed by the Rackbirds. Now, you see my point. That treasure is mine. I have a right to it, and I stand by that right. There must be no talk as to what is to be done with it. I shall decide what is right, and I shall do it, and no man shall have a word to say about it. In a case like this there must be a head, and I am the head.”

      The captain had been speaking rapidly and very earnestly, but now his manner changed a little. Placing his hand on Ralph’s shoulder, he said: “Now don’t be afraid, my boy, that you and your sister or Mrs. Cliff will be left in the lurch. If there were only us four, there would be no trouble at all, but if there is any talk of dividing, there may be a lot of men to deal with, and a hard lot, too. And now, not a word before these men. — Maka, that is a fine lot of fire-wood you have brought. It will last us a long time.”

      The African shrugged his shoulders. “Hope not,” he said. “Hope Mr. Rynders come soon.

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