Doubloons—and the Girl. Forbes John Maxwell

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СКАЧАТЬ What do you say, Cap'n Rufe?"

      "I agree with you," replied the captain. "The man is dead, and the box is yours by right of storage if nothing else. This Manuel didn't have wife or children that you know of, did he?"

      "Nary one," responded Grimshaw. "When he'd been drinking too much he used to cry sometimes an' say that he hadn't a relative in the world to care whether he lived or died."

      "That being the case, heave ahead," advised the captain. "You don't owe anything to the living or the dead to keep you from finding out all you want to know."

      Reinforced by this opinion, the old man again lifted the coat from the top of the box.

      What lay beneath was a curious medley of articles such as might have been gathered at various times by a sailor who was familiar with all the ports of the world. Mingled in with old trousers and boots and caps, were curiously tinted shells, clasp knives with broken blades, grotesque images of heathen gods, a tarantula and a centipede preserved in a small jar of alcohol, miraculously saved from breakage.

      But what especially attracted their attention in the midst of this miscellaneous riffraff was a small cedar box, about eight inches long by six inches wide and deep. It was heavily carved, and was secured by a lock of unusual size and strength.

      "Wonder if this is the thing that was worth more'n diamonds," grunted Tyke, with a carelessness that was too elaborate not to be assumed.

      "It must be that, if anything," replied Captain Hamilton, who had let his cigar go out and was now vigorously chewing the stub.

      Drew said nothing, but his cheeks were flushed and his eyes brighter than usual.

      Grimshaw fumbled with the lock for a moment, but found it immovable.

      "Jest step out, Allen, and get all the keys we have an' we'll see if any of 'em fit," he directed.

      Drew did so, and returned in a moment with the entire collection that the shop boasted. Tyke tried them all in turn, but none fitted.

      "I guess there's no help for it," he said at last. "I hate to spoil the box, but we'll have to force the lock. Get a chisel, and we'll pry the thing open."

      The chisel was brought and did its work promptly. There was a rasping, groaning sound, as if the box were complaining at this rude assault upon its privacy, then, with a hand that trembled a little, Tyke lifted the cover.

      All three heads were close together as the men bent over and peered in. Their first glimpse brought a sense of disappointment. They had half expected to catch the sheen of gold or the glitter of jewels. Instead they saw only a piece of oilskin that was carefully wrapped about what proved to be some sheets of paper almost as stiff as parchment.

      "Huh," grunted Tyke. "Pesky lot of trouble with mighty little result. I told you I thought Manuel was a bit touched in the brain, an' I guess I was right."

      "Wait a minute," said Captain Hamilton. "Don't go off at half-cock. Let's see what's in that oil-skin."

      Tyke opened the packet. The others drew up their chairs, one on either side, as he unfolded the oilskin carefully on his desk.

      There were two sheets of paper inside, so old and mildewed that they had to be handled carefully to prevent their falling to pieces.

      One of the papers seemed to be an official statement written in Spanish. The other consisted of rude tracings, moving apparently at random, with here and there a word that was almost illegible.

      The three men looked at this blankly. Drew was the first to speak.

      "It's a map!" he exclaimed eagerly.

      CHAPTER VII

      A MYSTERIOUS DOCUMENT

      The two captains scanned the document closely.

      "It certainly is a map," pronounced Captain Hamilton decisively.

      "That's what it 'pears to be," admitted Tyke.

      "And it's the map of an island," went on Hamilton. "See," he pointed out, "these wavy lines are meant to represent water and these firmer lines stand for the land."

      The others followed the movement of his finger and agreed with him.

      "Well, after all, what of it?" asked Tyke, leaning back in his chair with affected indifference.

      "There's this of it," said his visitor throwing his extinguished cigar into the waste-basket and drawing his chair still closer. "I feel that we have a mystery on our hands, and we should examine it fore and aft to find what there is in it."

      "I s'pose the next thing you'll be saying is that's it's a guide to hidden treasure or something like that," jeered Tyke feebly, to conceal his own growing excitement.

      "Stranger things than that have happened," replied the captain sententiously.

      "Have it your own way," assented Tyke, rising and going to the door.

      "Winters," he called, "jest remember that I'm not in to anybody for the rest of the afternoon."

      "Yes, sir," replied Winters dutifully.

      Having locked the door as an additional guard against intrusion, Tyke rejoined the two at the desk.

      "Fire away," he directed. "What's the first move?"

      "The first thing is to make out what's written on this other paper," said the captain, handling it gingerly.

      The three bent over and studied the document closely.

      "Why, it's some foreign lingo; Spanish probably!" exclaimed Grimshaw. "Not a word of English anywhere, as far as I can make out."

      "That's so," agreed the captain, a little dismayed at the discovery. "We've struck a snag right at the start. If we have to call in any one to translate it, we'll be taking the whole world into the secret, if there is any secret worth taking about."

      "Don't let that worry you," Drew intervened. "I think I know enough Spanish to be able to make out the paper."

      There was an exclamation of delight from Captain Hamilton and a snort of surprise from Tyke.

      "Why, I never knew that you knew anything about that lingo!" the latter ejaculated.

      "I don't know any too much about it," returned Drew, modestly. "But the South American trade is getting so big now that I thought it would be a good thing to know something of Spanish; so I've been studying it at night and at odd times for the last two years."

      "Well, don't that beat the Dutch!" cried Tyke delightedly. "Now if I was superstitious" – he stared truculently at the suspicious working of Drew's mouth – "I'd be sure there was something in this that wasn't natural. We want to look into the box, an' it busts open in front of us. We want to read that Spanish lingo, an' you know how to do it. I'll be keelhauled if it don't make me feel a little creepy. That is," he corrected himself quickly, "it would if I believed in them things."

      "Well, now that we know you don't believe in them," said Captain Hamilton, with the faintest possible touch of sarcasm, "and since our young friend here is able to read this paper, suppose we go to it."

      "You bet we'll go to it!" cried Tyke eagerly. "You jest take СКАЧАТЬ