n they sought to lift the cover.

"Stand clear!" cried Captain Hamilton, raising his spade.

He struck the padlock a smashing blow. Then he stooped and lifted the
cover, which yielded groaningly.

A cry burst simultaneously from the treasure seekers.

"Gold!"

"Doubloons!"

"Jewels!"

"Riches!"

Priceless treasures heaped in careless profusion, glinting, glowing,
coruscating, scintillating threw back in splendor the rays of the
tropic sun.

None of them could remember afterward quite how they acted in those
first few minutes of unchained emotion. But they laughed and sang,
cheered and shouted, and it was a long time before the rioting of their
blood ceased and they regained a measure of self-control.

There was no attempt made to measure the value of the treasure trove.
There would be time for that later on. What they did know beyond the
shadow of a doubt was that wealth enough lay before them to make them
all rich for the rest of their lives.

Gold there was, both coined and melted into bars; Spanish doubloons,
Indian rupees, French louis, English guineas; cups and candelabra;
chains and watches; jewels too, in whose depths flashed rainbow hues,
amethysts, rubies, diamonds, emeralds, strings upon strings of
shimmering pearls.

The discoverers bathed their hands in the golden store, running the
coins in sparkling streams through their fingers, all the time feeling
that they were moving in a dream from which at any moment they must be
rudely awakened.

At last the captain's voice, a bit husky from emotion, brought them
back to practical realities.

"Well, the first log of our voyage is written up," he said. "But now
let's get down to the question of what we're to do next. How are we to
get this stuff aboard?"

All sobered a little as they faced the problem.

"We can take the chest just as it is," said Tyke. "A four-man load,
though."

"What will the crew think?" Drew asked somewhat anxiously.

"Let 'em think and be hanged to 'em!" replied Captain Hamilton. "Yet,"
he added a moment later, "with things in the shaky condition they are
and that rascal, Ditty, planning mischief, we don't want to take too
many chances."

"Couldn't we make a number of trips back and forth and take some of the
treasure with us each time until we got it all on board?" suggested
Ruth. "We could carry a lot in our clothes and we could wrap some up
to look like the bundles we brought ashore."

"Take too long," ob