l about it; it was when I was only a year or two old. There were
three merchantmen wrecked within five miles of Deephaven. This one was
all stove to splinters, and they used to say she had treasure aboard.
When I was small I used to have a great idea of going out there to the
rocks at low water and trying to find some gold, but I never made out no
great." And he smiled indulgently at the thought of his youthful dream.

"Kate," said I, "do you see what beauties these Turk's-head knots are?"
We had been taking a course of first lessons in knots from Danny, and
had followed by learning some charmingly intricate ones from Captain
Lant, the stranded mariner who lived on a farm two miles or so inland.
Kate came over to look at the Turk's-heads, which were at either end of
the rope handles of a little dark-blue chest.

Captain Sands turned in his chair and nodded approval. "That's a neat
piece of work, and it was a first-rate seaman who did it; he's dead and
gone years ago, poor young fellow; an I-talian he was, who sailed on the
Ranger three or four long voyages. He fell from the mast-head on the
voyage home from Callao. Cap'n Manning and old Mr. Lorimer, they owned
the Ranger, and when she come into port and they got the news they took
it as much to heart as if he'd been some relation. He was smart as a
whip, and had a way with him, and the pleasantest kind of a voice; you
couldn't help liking him. They found out that he had a mother alive in
Port Mahon, and they sent his pay and some money he had in the bank at
Riverport out to her by a ship that was going to the Mediterranean. He
had some clothes in his chest, and they sold those and sent her the
money,--all but some trinkets they supposed he was keeping for her; I
rec'lect he used to speak consider'ble about his mother. I shipped one
v'y'ge with him before the mast, before I went out mate of the Daylight.
I happened to be in port the time the Ranger got in, an' I see this
chist lying round in Cap'n Manning's storehouse, and I offered to give
him what it was worth; but we was good friends, and he told me take it
if I wanted it, it was no use to him, and I've kept it ever since.

"There are some of his traps in it now, I believe; ye can look." And we
took off some tangled cod-lines and opened the chest. There was only a
round wooden box in the till, and in some idle hour at sea the young
sailor had carved his initials and an anchor and the date on the cover.
We found some