e sat
in front of the house, looking up into the sky, counting one, two,
three, four, five, six, seven. Then he would twist himself around on
the little bench, and count seven more.

This worthy couple lived in a small house which had a large cellar, and
during the afternoon of that day Abner busied himself in clearing out
this cellar, and taking out of it everything which it had contained. His
wife asked no questions. In her soul she knew what Abner was thinking
about.

Supper was over, and most of the people in the village were thinking of
going to bed, when Abner said to Mary, "Let us each take a spade, and I
will carry a pail, and we will go out upon the beach for a walk. If any
one should see us, they would think that we were going to dig for
clams."

"Oh, no, dear Abner!" cried Mary. "We must not dig there! Think of that
young pirate. Almost the first thing we would come to would be him!"

"I have thought of that," said Abner; "but do you not believe that the
most Christian act that you and I could do would be to take him out and
place him in a proper grave near by?"

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Mary, "do not say such a thing as that! Think of his
ghost! They killed him and put him there, that his ghost might guard
their treasure. You know, Abner, as well as I do, that this is their
dreadful fashion!"

"I know all about that," said Abner, "and that is the reason I wish to
go to-night. I do not believe there has yet been time enough for his
ghost to form. But let us take him out now, dear Mary, and lay him
reverently away,--and then!" He looked at her with flashing eyes.

"But, Abner," said she, "do you think we have the right?"

"Of course we have," said he. "Those treasures do not belong to the
pirates. If we take them they are treasure-trove, and legally ours. And
think, dear Mary, how poor we are to-night, and how rich we may be
to-morrow! Come, get the pail. We must be off."

Running nearly all the way,--for they were in such a hurry they could
not walk,--Abner and Mary soon reached the bluff, and hastily scrambling
down to the beach below, they stood upon the dreadful spot where Captain
Kidd and his pirates had stood the night before. There was the old
battered pine tree, reaching out two of its bare arms encouragingly
toward them.

Without loss of time Abner walked up to the tree, put his back to it,
and then looked up into the sky. Now he called Mary to him. "Which star
do you think he looked at, good