"these are rubies, unless I am very greatly mistaken; while, as to
these," turning to the last compartment, "they are emeralds--and there
are some beauties among them, too, apparently," as I fished up one or
two remarkably fine ones. "Why, O'Gorman," I exclaimed, "you are rich
men--every mother's son of you--there are sixteen handsome fortunes in
this chest, fortunes big enough to set you all up as gentry, or to ruin
you in double-quick time, according to the use that you make of your
wealth."

"Begorra, sorr, that's the plisintest thing I iver heard ye say!"
exclaimed the Irishman, in high glee at my verdict as to the value of
the "pebbles," while the beaming countenances of the twain on guard
betrayed that their delight was fully as great as that of their leader.

There were further sounds of revelry ashore, that night, intermingled,
more than once, with other sounds suggestive of altercation and quarrel;
and just at sunrise, while I was taking a matutinal swim round the ship,
I saw all hands march out, in somewhat formal order, along the glade
upon which their camp was pitched, and disappear across the sand-spit
that formed one side of the loch entrance. Ten minutes later, while I
was towelling myself on the fore deck, in the seclusion afforded by the
position of the galley, I was startled by what sounded like a distant
volley of pistol-shots; and about half an hour afterwards I saw the
crowd returning to camp by the way that they had gone. As I watched
them shambling along over the somewhat uneven ground I was struck by
something rather unusual in their appearance; and presently I discovered
what it was: there seemed to be not quite so many of them. By the time
that I had slipped into my clothes the party had arrived pretty nearly
abreast of the brig, and were close enough, to enable me not only to
count but to identify them. _They were now only fourteen in number; and
the two absent ones were the men whom I had seen guarding the treasure
on the previous night_! Somehow, the absence of these two men instantly
became associated in my mind with the volley of pistol-shots that I had
heard while overboard; and I began to wonder, gloomily, whether the
unearthed treasure had already brought a tragedy in its train. I was
full of this idea as I sat down to breakfast; but as Miss Onslow did not
make any remark or inquiry concerning the pistol volley, I concluded
that she had not heard it, and was careful to say nothin