a bit o' harm at all, mister, ez I ken see," said Captain Snaggs
decisively; "not where ther' ain't no folk alive to complain o' ye
tellin' on it. Nary a bit o' harm, I reckon!"

"Yase, I do not zee no harms," continued Jan Steenbock, as if he had now
made up his mind on the point; "and zo I vas tell yous. Ze zeegret dat
Cap'en Shackzon tell to me vas dat he hat discovert von dreazure in a
cave in ze islant von day dat he vas plown into ze bay in a squall; and
ven he vas go back to Guayaquil, he vas charter ze schgooners to zail
back to ze islant again. He vas tell ze beeples dere dat he vas go vor
ze orchilla veeds and ze toordle; but, he vas mean to dig oop ze
dreazure and take hims back zogreetly in ze schgooners to ze mainland,
as if he vas only hab ze orchilla veeds and ze toordle on boart. He
zays to me, zays Cap'en Shackzon, `ze Sbaniards in Equador is von bat
lot, and vill murter a mans like one mosquito vor a tollar,' and he vas
know dat zey vas kill hims if zey vas zink he vas hab ze dreazure on
boart; and, dat vas ze reason dat he vas vant von man dat he coot
droost, joost like meinselfs, mit hims!"

"A treasure hyar, mister," said the skipper, with his eyes aglow and his
goatee beard bristling up, all agog at such news--"a treasure o' gold,
hey?"

"Yase, yase," replied the other affirmatively; "oh, yase!"

"How come it hyar?"

"It vas burit by ze boocaneer in ze olt time--one, doo, dree huntert
year ago," explained Jan. "Cap'en Shackzon vas zee it writ in von book
dat he vas zee at Guayaquil; and den, ven he vas zail here, he vas come
to de zame blace dat ze boocaneer spoke of in ze book and hat burit ze
golt. It vas ze ploonder of ze churches of ze coast, dat ze boocaneers
hat collect in von big heep and zegreet in ze cave till zey coot take
hims avay mit dem, and dere it vas remain till Cap'en Shackzon vound
it."

"He found it, hey?"

"Yase, he vind it von day, as I zays. His voot vas sdoomble in ze hole,
and dat give vays; and den, he doombles into ze cave, and zee all ze
dreasure of golt and silber and ozer tings."

"An' did ye see it, too, mister?" inquired Captain Snaggs anxiously.
"Pyaps thet air coon wer only bamboozlin' ye, an' made up the yarn!"

"No, he vas not make it oop," replied Jan. "I vas zee dat Madonna of
golt dere and ozer tings dat he vas bring back vrom ze cave ven we vas
coom here in ze schgooners, and anchor't in ze bay dere as ze sheep vas
now lay. But, Cap'en Sha