teen hundred and
ninety-seven ounces; and though that was the biggest of the lot, it was
only one of many big ones. Of course, a `find' like that goes the
rounds of the newspapers, and is made much of and talked about to that
degree that people simply go mad with the gold-fever, and rush off to
the fields, absolutely certain that they, too, will be equally lucky."

This was serious news indeed; for, as I was then situated, I could ill
afford to have the ship lying idle a single day, to say nothing of such
a length of time as five or six months. Should I eventually succeed in
recovering the treasure, of course even a year or more of enforced
idleness would matter nothing; but it was still quite an open question
with me whether I should ever see that treasure or not. I had not a
shadow of doubt as to the _bona fides_ of the cryptogram. I felt
certain that when that document was penned, the treasure was reposing
peacefully in the hiding-place described therein; but how was I to know
that it lay there still? The writer of the document may not have been
the only person acquainted with the secret of the hiding-place; and, in
such a case, the probabilities were in favour of the treasure having
been unearthed years before either I or my father opened our eyes upon
this world. Or it might even have been stumbled upon accidentally. In
short, the prospect of its falling into my hands appeared so uncertain,
even now that I had gained the clue to its place of concealment, that I
felt it would be impossible for me to regard myself or to act otherwise
than as a poor man until I should actually find the treasure in my
possession. And then, too, I was naturally anxious and eager to settle
the question as to whether the treasure still remained hidden or not.
If it did, well and good; if not--if it was not to be found on the spot
indicated in the cryptogram, it certainly would not be found at all; and
all that would then remain for me to do would be to dismiss the matter
from my mind, as I would a feverish dream, and devote myself, heart and
soul, to my profession.

The problem which now presented itself to my mind was, how to induce my
crew to remain with me? For _inducement_ it would certainly have to be;
I could scarcely have them locked up, or put them in irons during our
stay in Sydney in order to insure myself against their desertion! I
thought the matter over very carefully, both on that first evening of
our arrival in S