d now that all his business was ended, he felt that it was time to
possess himself of it. Accordingly he took a spade from the house and
bent his steps in the direction of the old oak tree.

He went alone, for he thought it best not to take anyone into his
confidence. Indeed the only persons whom he would have thought of
trusting were Joe Marks and Luke Robbins, and they were both employed,
Joe in his store and Luke on a hunting expedition.

Arrived at the tree, Ernest measured off five feet in the direction
mentioned by Peter and began to dig. It did not take him long to reach
the box, for it was only a foot beneath the surface of the ground.

It proved to be a cigar-box, for Peter was fond of smoking, though he
usually smoked a pipe, as being more economical. Ernest lifted the lid
and saw a small roll enclosed in brown wrapping-paper, which, on being
removed, revealed twenty five-dollar gold pieces. He regarded them
with satisfaction, for they afforded him the means of leaving Oak
Forks and going out into the great world which he had such a curiosity
to enter.

But Ernest was not the only one who regarded the gold pieces with
satisfaction.

Hidden behind a tree only a few feet away was a person with whom we
are already acquainted. It was Tom Burns, the tramp and vagabond.

He, too, was out in search of gold. He had come from Daneboro and was
prowling round the neighborhood, searching for old Peter's hidden
treasure. He had deliberated as to whether the cabin or the fields was
the more likely place to have been selected. He had nothing in
particular to guide him. He did not, however, venture to approach the
house just yet, as it would probably be occupied by Ernest.

"I wish I knowed where the old man hid his boodle," soliloquized Tom.
"I can't dig all over."

In fact digging was not in Tom's line. It was too much like work, and
if there was anything to which Tom was bitterly opposed it was work of
any kind.

"The boy must know. Likely the old man told him," he finally
concluded. "I'll watch the boy."

He feared he might be too late. Had it been his own case, he would
have searched for the gold immediately after the funeral. He naturally
supposed that Ernest would do the same. He therefore lost no time in
prowling around the cabin, with the especial object of watching
Ernest's movements. He was especially favored, as he thought, when
from a distance he saw Ernest leaving the cabin with the spade in his
han