went in from the other end and had gone up nearly to
where the water began, when we put one of the lights on a ledge, and
went forward with the other, and when we had gone about a hundred feet,
it disappeared, and we have never found it to this day."

"That does seem odd. Do you think it was taken by some one?"

"Well, we could not possibly account for it in any other way but that it
fell off the ledge by some accident. How that could be possible I don't
know, as George declared he had placed it in a secure position."

By this time they had reached the recess, and George suggested that the
entire cave should be examined, and Ralph was somewhat in the lead.
Everywhere was the universal whiteness of the calcareous deposit. As
they reached the vicinity of the chests, where the copper vessels were,
they formed a striking contrast to the whiteness all around.

"What are those things there?" asked Tom, stepping back in surprise,
pointing to the vessels.

Ralph peered forward, to get a better view. "It looks like kettles of
some kind."

Harry passed the boys and walking up to one of the kettles, overturned
it, and as a shower of the coins slid out, and rolled about, they were
amazed beyond all description.

Ralph was the first to recover, and he picked up some of the coins:
"Didn't you know about these? I believe they are gold; look, Tom. Did
you ever see anything like this?"

Tom was stupefied. "I don't wonder that men will risk their lives to get
treasure like this. Here we didn't hunt for it and we found it."

"Yes, but Harry and George knew all about it; didn't you?"

And the boys laughed an assent.

"Why don't you take it out of here?"

"Well, it seems to be pretty safe in this place; and if we should have
been attacked by the natives, we should have a place of retreat and have
our treasure with us."

After putting the coins carefully back, Harry said: "Probably we may be
able to discover something else." And he moved forwardly to the right,
with Tom following close, and the boys pressing up to see what else
might be found. There, at the place where the Professor had deposited
them in a row were the five skeletons, and they presented such a ghastly
sight that they shrank back in horror.

"We found these in a little different position when we first arrived."

"In what way?"

"They were in all sorts of positions in front of the recess, and some of
them had the knives still sticking in their ribs, and one