ious. That was why 'ee ded'n do nothin' but smugglin'. Well, so 'ee
did eed away the paper wot 'ee got from the man, and waited till 'ee cud
vind somebody to trust. But he cudden vind nobody--nobody toal. Besides,
everybody was frad to 'ave anything to do wi' Granfer. People did
believe 'ee was a wizard, and 'ad dailins weth the devil. Mawther do
zay that nobody would go out mor'n seven mile out to say weth Granfer."

"And where is this paper?"

"Aw, aw. I vound out I did. Granfer tould mawther, and mawther did tell
me. I vound et, and did eed it in another plaace. Aw, aw, you shud a
eerd Cap'n Jack and Cap'n Billy swear when they cudden vind et. Aw, aw.
But I did love Maaster Jasper, and I'll take 'ee to et, Maaster Jasper,
my deear."

All the time Eli was speaking he kept fondling my hands and caressing
me, just as a man would caress a maid whom he loves.

"But does your mother know what you have done?"

"No, she doan't. She do believe it have been sperrited away."

"Spirited away; what do you mean?"

"Mawther do knaw. Aw, aw. But she ed'n right this time, and yet she is
oal the time."

As I have before mentioned, it was no uncommon thing to hear about
hidden treasures along our coast. Indeed, from earliest childhood I have
heard of gangs of pirates burying treasures in many of our secret
hiding-places; so common were such stories that we had ceased to pay
attention to them. Consequently I had given but little attention to the
conversation I had heard between Cap'n Jack and Betsey, neither did I
attach much value to what Eli had been telling me. If such a treasure
existed, and if Granfer Fraddam knew of it, he would have found means to
have obtained it. I knew that during Granfer Fraddam's later years he
was said to have tried to get religion, and wanted very hard to break
away from a compact he made with the evil one in his young days. There
were also stories telling how he pleaded with Betsey to give up all
connection with witchcraft, and that because she would not agree to this
he died in his secret cave rather than have her near him. But all these
were stories to which I, who had had a fair amount of schooling, had
paid but little attention.

Besides, at this time I was thinking about the sweet maid that I loved
rather than the treasure that Eli spoke about. What were treasures to me
if she were dead? What was Pennington, the home of my fathers even, if
she had been slowly killed by the Tresidder brood?