dden hoard, and would attach
itself to any one discovering or touching the same, I heard more than
one of the men give expression to a resolve to hunt for Captain
Jackson's cave as soon as he should have an opportunity, when his spell
of work was over, or, at all events, on the completion of the dock and
the floating of the ship--a halcyon period most devoutly prayed for by
all of us as we slaved at our unaccustomed task.

Amongst those who had thus made up their minds to go after the treasure
was myself; and I got full of the subject, though keeping my own council
the while, and not informing any one of my intention.

Presently, at `eight bells,' the skipper told me I might leave off work
in the trench, and go with Hiram on board the ship to prepare tea for
the hands. Morris Jones was ordered to accompany us, at the same time,
to get the captain's dinner ready; for, although we were ashore on a
desert island, our ordinary routine as to meals and other matters was
adhered to as regularly as if we had been at sea--the only exception
being that no particular watch was kept, and that we all turned in
together of a night and out likewise in the morning without distinction,
all at the same time. Throughout the day we worked at digging out the
trench, or `dock' as Jan Steenbock persisted in calling it, under the
ship, in gangs, in similar fashion to the mode that had been employed
when unloading her, so as to get the task accomplished as quickly as
possible; and, to facilitate this, the hands were divided into two
batches, each having a spell of navvy's work and a rest off between
whiles, turn and turn about.

"Thet wer a mighty rum yarn the Dutchman spun jest now, I guess,"
observed Hiram, as soon as we had got on board and reached the galley,
Morris Jones leaving us awhile to ourselves, and going aft to fetch the
skipper's grub out of the pantry, where it was stowed. "I'm jiggered if
I ever heerd tell o' sich a yarn afore!"

"Don't you think it true?" I said. "Mr Steenbock isn't given to
cramming, from all I have seen of him."

"No; he air a straight up-an'-down coon, I reckon," replied Hiram,
proceeding to cut off a piece of tobacco from a plug he produced from
his pocket, and placing a `chaw' in his jaw. "Still, b'y, jest think o'
buccaneer tree-sors, an' all sorts o' gold an' silver a-waitin' fur us
to dig 'em up! Why, it beats Californy an' all I've heerd tell o' the
diggin' days, when thaar wer the first ru