ied treasure!--Buried by whom, and consisting of what, uncle?"

"Buried by seamen who make free with the goods of others on the high seas,
ag'in the time when they might come back and dig it up, and carry it away
to be used. Consisting of what, indeed! Consisting principally, accordin'
to Daggett's account, of heavy doubloons; though there was a lot of old
English guineas among 'em. Yes, I remember that he spoke of them
guineas--three thousand and odd, and nearly as many doubloons!"

"Was Daggett, then, a pirate, sir?--for they who make free with the goods
of others on the high seas are neither more nor less than pirates."

"No; not he, himself. He got this secret from one who _was_ a pirate,
however, and who was a prisoner in a gaol where he was himself confined
for smuggling. Yes; that man told him all about the buried treasure, in
return for some acts of kindness shown him by Daggett. It's well to be
kind sometimes, Mary"

"It is well to be kind always, sir; even when it is misunderstood, and the
kindness is abused. What was the redemption but kindness and love, and
god-like compassion on those who neither understood it nor felt it? But
money collected and buried by pirates can never become _yours_, uncle; nor
can it ever become the property of Roswell Gardiner."

"Whose is it, then, gal?" demanded the deacon, sharply. "Gar'ner had some
such silly notion in his head when I first told him of this treasure; but
I soon brought _him_ to hear reason."

"I think Roswell must always have seen that a treasure obtained by robbery
can never justly belong to any but its rightful owner."

"And who is this rightful owner, pray? or _owners_, I might say; for the
gold was picked up, here and there, out of all question, from many hands.
Now, supposing Gar'ner gets this treasure, as I still hope he may, though
he is an awful time about it--but suppose he gets it, how is he to find
the rightful owners? There it is, a bag of doubloons, say--all looking
just alike, with the head of a king, a Don Somebody, and the date, and the
Latin and Greek--now who can say that 'this is my doubloon; I lost it at
such a time--it was taken from me by such a pirate, in such sea; and I was
whipped till I told the thieves where I had hid the gold?' No, no, Mary;
depend on 't, no action of 'plevy would lie ag'in a single one of all them
pieces. They are lost, one and all, to their former owners, and will
belong to the man that succeeds in getting hold