filled with gold, silver, and bronze drinking-cups
and goblets, lamps, vases, and urns, that had been gathered from the
ships of many countries. Then there were chests which contained little
barrels full of gold and silver coin of every realm, from the huge
golden doubloon of Spain to the little silver groschen of Germany.
Besides all this varied wealth, there were piles of arms of all
nations--richly chased scimitars of Eastern manufacture, the clumsy
cutlasses of England, long silver-handled pistols of Oriental form,
bluff little "bull-dog" revolvers, cavalry sabres, breech-loading
rifles, flint-lock muskets, shields, spears, bows and arrows--in short,
a miscellaneous armoury much too extensive to be described.

It was interesting to observe the monkey-like countenance of old Meerta
as she watched the effect produced on her visitors, her little black
eyes sparkling in the lamp-light more brightly than the finest gems
there; and not less interesting was it to note the half-amused, more
than half-amazed, and partially imbecile gaze of the still silent
visitors. Little Letta enjoyed their looks quite as much as Meerta.

"Haven't we got lots of pretty things here?" she said, looking up into
Robin's face.

"Yes, little one,--wonderful!"

Robin revived sufficiently to make this reply and to glance at Sam,
Slagg, and Stumps, who returned the glance. Then he relapsed.

Snatching the lamp from his hand, old Meerta now led the party to a
remote corner of the cave, where a number of large casks were ranged at
one end, and covered with a sheet of leather.

"Ha! ha!" laughed their wild guide, in a sort of screech, "here be de
grandest jools, de finest dimunds of all, what buys all de rest!"

She lifted a corner of the skin, removed the loose head of a cask, and
holding the lamp close over the opening, bade them look in. They did
so, and the effect was powerful as well as instantaneous, for there,
only a few inches below the flaring light, lay an open barrel of
gunpowder!

The senses of Sam Shipton returned like a flash of lightning--interest,
surprise, admiration vanished like smoke, as he uttered a shout, and,
with one hand seizing the wrist of the withered arm that held the lamp,
with the other he hastily drew the leathern cover over the exposed
powder and held it down.

"You old curmudgeon!" he cried; "here, Robin, take the lamp from her,
and away with it into the outer cave."

Our hero promptly obeyed, while t