one morning, about a week later, three of the pirates—tom, charlie, and kenneth—got into a dory and rowed away from the harbor. it was tom’s own boat, of which he was very proud. he had spent all his life near and in and on the water, and he was a splendid boatman. mr. thornton was not afraid to let the children go with him in his dory, but he made them promise that never more than two should go with tom at one time.
the pirates had with them in the boat three spades; they looked very sly, as though they were upon a secret errand. tom was the leader in this adventure, and he seemed to know just where to go. they rowed around the point and then straight out into the bay towards[73] a little rocky island, beyond the other islands. they followed the shore of it until they came to an inlet with a smooth beach beyond.
“this is the place,” said tom, jumping out and pulling up the boat. “come on, fellows!”
he raced up the beach followed by the other two, and climbed a bank. at the top was a spring of cool, clear water under a tree, and close beside it was a huge rock.
“look at that!” cried tom, pointing at the rock. “what do you think of that?”
the rock was split into two flat pieces, each almost square, which lay side by side. it looked like a great book spread open.
“it is the very rock that aunt clare told about in the story!” cried charlie.
“where is the mound?” asked kenneth eagerly. “oh, i see! this must be it.”
sure enough! close beside the rock and near the spring the ground swelled into a mound covered with grass.
[74]“of course this must be the place,” said charlie excitedly. “how did you ever find it, tom?”
“well, when she was telling the story i remembered this island, and i thought it was just the place that the pirates would have come to first when they drifted in from sea; so i rowed over to look at it. i found the cove was just as she had said, and sure enough! there was the rock like a big book, and the mound. i knew this must be the place. i wanted to begin to dig right away, but i thought it wouldn’t be fair without you fellows, ’cause you were the ones to tell me about pirates first.”
“let’s begin to dig now,” said kenneth eagerly.
“let’s!” cried charlie. so they ran down to the dory and got their spades. then they all fell to work.
the mound was not hard like ordinary earth. when they had gone through the sod their spades struck something queer. charlie[75] took some of it up in his hand. “why, it’s broken shells,” he said.
“clam shells!” exclaimed kenneth, picking up two which were still unbroken. “the pirates must have had clams for their dinner, and have piled the shells on top of their treasure. oh, hurry! this proves there is something here, doesn’t it?”
eagerly they set to work again. it was amazing to see what a number of shells there were in that mound. it was made of nothing else. down, down they dug until they had a hole as large as tom’s body. but still there was no sign of any treasure. their spades tossed up broken shells and nothing more.
“my! those two pirates must have had a big clambake all by themselves,” said charlie, pausing to wipe his streaming forehead.
“i suppose captain kidd was an awful eater,” said kenneth. “but i say, how could they finish so many clams?”
“huh! i could eat half a barrel of steamed clams any day,” protested tom. “those two[76] pirates were regular cannibals, i expect. besides, they were eating on purpose to have shells enough to cover the treasure, don’t you see?”
once more they fell to work, and they dug for ten minutes without a word. but presently, with a sigh, they all three stopped again. it was a hot day and this was hard work.
“if we find the treasure we must give some to the girls,” said kenneth.
“of course,” agreed tom. “they are pirates, too. the band will all have to share.”
“let’s give each of the others three diamonds and three rubies and three sapphires and three emeralds,” said charlie, with sudden inspiration.
“all right,” agreed tom and kenneth. “and we’ll divide the rest equally among us three,” added kenneth.
then they began work again. but still there was no sign of that iron-bound box. their arms were growing very tired. they were[77] almost ready to give it up. suddenly kenneth stooped and picked up something.
“hello!” he said. “what’s this?”
it was a small pointed stone, flat on both sides. the other two boys examined it eagerly. “why, it looks like an indian arrowhead,” said charlie; “but how came it here?”
“perhaps the pirates used bows and arrows too,” suggested tom.
“that’s it!” cried kenneth. “i’m almost sure they did. i remember once seeing an old picture of men fighting with bows and arrows, and they were not indians. they must have been pirates. hurrah! i guess we are near the treasure now!”
they dug down with new energy, tossing up the shell-earth like beavers. presently charlie stooped. “i’ve found something too,” he said; “but i don’t know what it is.” it was a curious round stone, hollow and smooth in the middle.
in a few minutes tom stooped also. “here’s something else,” he said, pulling out[78] a very long, three-sided stone roughly sharpened on one edge. “what do you suppose this is?”
“maybe it is an anchor,” suggested kenneth. but it did not look much like an anchor. they worked for another ten minutes, then they stopped, for nothing else came to light.
“i don’t think these are much,” said charlie, kicking the stone things with his foot. “i don’t believe there is anything else here. these old shells go down and down,—to china, i guess. the pirates couldn’t have eaten so many clams, you know. let’s give it up.”
“yes, let’s,” agreed kenneth, tossing away his spade and sitting down to rest. “i’m tired and i’m not going to dig any more.”
“oh, come! don’t give up so soon!” begged tom. “i’m going to work awhile longer.”
charlie looked at his watch. “it is noon already,” he said. “i’m hungry, and aunt mollie doesn’t like us to be late for dinner. let’s go home. there isn’t anything here but old stone things, and they are no good.”
“the pirates left them,” said tom doggedly. “i’m going to work a little longer. say, will you fellows dig for ten minutes more? then if we don’t find anything i’ll agree to give it up.”
“all right,” said the other two.
once more they set to work with tired arms. they dug and they dug through the dust of broken clam shells, of which there seemed to be no end. but still there was no sign of the iron-bound box. it was very discouraging. all they found was a few more arrowheads and some knobby stones with grooves about the top. they were hardly worth picking up, it seemed. the boys tossed them aside in a little heap with the other stone things. then they threw down their spades, rubbing their aching backs and arms. all these pains for nothing!
“it’s no use,” said charlie. “there can’t be anything here. we shall have to give it up.”
[80]“it is long after dinner time. perhaps we shan’t get any, and they will scold us,” said kenneth ruefully.
“huh! only a lot of old stone things!” growled tom, kicking the heap spitefully. “they aren’t worth taking home, are they?”
“oh, yes! we must show them all to father. perhaps he can tell us what they are,” said kenneth.
“well, come on, then,” urged charlie. “i wish we had gone an hour ago. i hate cold dinners. oh, what a wasted morning!”
tom lingered wistfully. “it looks just like a treasure place,” he said, “and i felt somehow as if we should find it here. there must be some mistake.”
“oh, come on, tom!” called the others impatiently; and he hurried down to the beach where they had carried the stone things. soon they were rowing back to their own island. but they were very silent and sulky all the way. their treasure hunt had not been a success, and they were hungry and cross. tom[81] was the gloomiest of the three. he felt that they blamed him for their disappointment. but it had mattered most to him.
“i wanted to take home a handful of diamonds to mary,” he said to himself. “how pleased she would be! then we would all be rich. but i would give the handsomest diamond of all to rose.”
mr. thornton was on the beach looking for them when they came in. he had been greatly worried because they had been gone so long; but he did not scold them when they told him what they had been doing.
“tom thought that he had found captain kidd’s hiding-place, papa,” said kenneth wearily. “it looked just like the mound that aunt clare told us about; but there wasn’t any treasure at all, only some old stone things in a heap of shells.”
“stone things in a shell-heap?” asked mr. thornton, pricking up his ears. “what do you mean by that?”
“we brought these home, uncle jack,”[82] said charlie, pulling out the stone things from under the seat of the dory.
“hello! some good indian arrowheads and sinkers; a stone mortar for grinding corn; and this,—why! this is as fine an indian plow as i ever saw. which of you found this, boys?” cried mr. thornton excitedly.
“tom found that,” said kenneth without envy.
“well, tom, i must buy this of you. boys, you have found a treasure indeed, though it is not the kind you were looking for. you must have come upon an indian shell-mound, and i dare say there are still more things there to be discovered. but come now, you must be half starved. i know mama and aunt clare are very anxious,—i dare say tom’s mother is not the worrying kind. let’s all go home and have some cold dinner. then we will look at your treasures again. tom, you ought to be proud of your morning’s work! i wish i had discovered that shell-mound myself!”
