e to succeed. As I
lifted the fragments and threw them away, my hands came in contact with
a soft substance underneath, that, to the feel, at least, resembled the
skin of a beast with the wool or hair on. I cleared away the earth,
and saw to my astonishment what I at once knew to be a piece of buffalo
hide, smeared over with a peculiar oil the Indians use to prevent
rotting or decomposition. I drew forth my knife and ripped it open;
a strong skin of undressed buck was now laid bare; again I applied my
knife vigorously to this, and as the sharp steel ran freely along,
a glittering heap of gold disclosed itself before me, and rolled in
fragmente to my feet!

I cannot attempt to describe the emotions of that moment, as, with
a heart bursting with delight, I ran my fingers through the heaps of
shining metal, many of them larger than my closed fist. I pulled off my
cap and filled it; I opened my handkerchief, and in a few moments
that also was crammed; I stuffed my pockets; but the treasure seemed
inexhaustible. I arose, and hastened to the hut for the great canvas bag
in which the poor miner used to keep his chestnuts, and, oh, the terror
that came over me now, lest I should be seen, lest any other should
discover me! With the speed that fear alone can supply I soon filled the
sack, not alone with gold, but also with several little leather
bags, which I discovered contained gems and precious stones, emeralds
principally, with opals, sapphires, and rubies, some of a size and color
I had never seen equalled before. There were eight of these bags, marked
with some enigmatical letters, of which I did not know the meaning, nor,
in good truth, did I puzzle myself to discover. The wealth, unbounded as
it seemed, needed no explanation; there it lay glittering upon the grass
beneath the morning sun, and there I sat amidst it, as Aladdin might
have sat amidst the treasures of his mine.

As I opened the bags one after another, in eager impatience, I came upon
one filled with papers, and these I quickly discovered were receipts
for deposits of large sums placed at various times in the hands of Don
Xafire Hijaros, banker, at Guajuaqualla, by Menelaus Crick! Yes, these
were the hidden treasures for which the Black Boatswain of Anticosti
had endured the tortures of the burning iron and the steel, the
terrible agonies of the flesh pincers, and the slow, lingering pains of
paralysis. These, then, were the visions that haunted his dotage in