t buried
his treasure on his own premises. The basis of this belief was
the difficulty--that must have been even greater in his time--of
transporting such heavy substances as gold and silver across the sandy
region between Lewes and where the _Martha Ann_ used to lie at anchor
in Rehoboth Bay. I reasoned that, the burial being but temporary, my
relative would have been much more likely to have interred his valuables
at some point on the land only a short distance from the _Martha Ann's_
anchorage. When I mentioned this theory to Susan she seemed to be very
much impressed by the common-sense of it, and as I have a great respect
for Susan's judgment, her acquiescence in my views strengthened my own
faith in them.

To pursue my search in the neighborhood of Rehoboth Bay it was necessary
that I should have the assistance of some person thoroughly familiar
with the coast thereabouts. After thinking the matter over I decided
that I could not do better than take Old Jacob into my confidence. So I
got the old man out to the Swallow's Nest--that was the name that Susan
had given our country place: only by the time that she had settled upon
it the little swallows had grown up and the whole swallow family had
gone away--under pretence of seeing if the cow was all right (Old Jacob
was a first-rate hand at cow doctoring), and while he was looking at the
cow I told him all about the buried treasure, and how I wanted him
to help me find it. When I put it in his head this way he remembered
perfectly the story that used to be told about the old pirate's
mysteriously lost fortune, and he entered with a good deal of spirit
into my project for getting it again. Of course I told him that if we
did find it he should have a good slice of it for helping me. I told
Susan that I had made this promise, and she said that I had done exactly
right. So, after we had given him a good supper, Old Jacob went back to
Lewes, promising that early the next week, after he had got through a
job of boat-painting which he had on hand, he would go over with me, and
we would begin operations on the bay. He seemed to think the case very
promising. He said that when he was only a tot of a boy his father had
pointed out to him the _Martha Ann's_ anchorage, and that he thought he
could tell to within a cable's length of where the schooner used to
lie. I did not know how long a cable was, but from the tone in which
Old Jacob spoke of it I judged that it must be short.