CHAPTER XXXV: THE TREASURE.That was a dizzy and nerve-racking elevator. At the end of the rising rope Jack swung about like a pendulum. At last the edge of the summit was almost reached.“Steady on,â€� called down Jack, “I’ll climb the rest of the way,â€� for he had noticed that it was not a hard scramble, from the point he had reached, to the top.After a short struggle, he clambered and writhed himself to safety. Then he lay flat on his face for a moment on the flat top of the table mountain, regaining his breath and collecting his faculties.After a while he rose. He looked over the brink and waved his cap to those below. The sound of a faint cheer was wafted up to him. Jack shouted back.Then he turned his face upon the surface of the summit of Cedar Mountain. It was not perfectly flat as he had imagined from below. Rocky mounds covered it in every direction. Some struggling bushes and stunted trees also grew there.From his point of vantage, Jack had an excellent view of the island and the sea for miles.At almost his first glance about him, he detected the schooner lying in a small bay on the opposite side of the island to the cove. On the beach he spied what appeared to be a camp. A boat was plying between the schooner and the shore.“I wonder if they have found out yet that the treasure, if it’s here at all, is ungettable,â€� murmured Jack.He used caution in going about the top of the mountain after that, crouching behind rocky mounds to avoid being seen from the schooner or Terrill’s camp.The “island in the air,â€� as it might have been fittingly called, was filled with deep crannies, in some of which snow still lay. To have fallen down one of them would have meant a miserable, lingering death, without possibility of rescue.“Well, this is a unique adventure,â€� thought Jack. “Even if there is no stone chest, it will have been well worth the experience.â€�He made for the great dead cedar by a circuitous route. His heart beat a little faster as, at its foot, he saw there had been erected a rough stone cairn.“That makes part of the story true at any rate,â€� he reflected, “but I see no sign of the chest.â€�The boy did not feel much disappointment. He had distrusted the story right along. So that he was not downcast to find that he had drawn a blank. There was no trace of a stone chest, or anything even remotely resembling it anywhere.“Euchred!â€� murmured the boy, “poor Uncle Toby!â€�There came a sudden shout from below. The lad rushed to the edge of the cliff and looked over. What he saw gave him an unpleasant shock. Unperceived by him, three canoes had landed on the east end of the island.Their occupants, wild looking Esquimaux, had stolen up unobserved on the party below. From his post of vantage, Jack saw Carson snatch out a pistol and fire point-blank into the onrush of natives, who brandished spears and clubs. Sherry and Merryweather, too, covered the retreat of the rest with their service revolvers which they had brought from the revenue cutter.Three of the Esquimaux fell. The rest faltered. They had no firearms. Jack saw Carson, Sherry and Merryweather fire above the natives’ heads to scare them. The ruse succeeded. Picking up two of the wounded, they made a wild dash for the canoes. The white men picked up the third wounded man and Jack saw them giving him some sort of stimulants and examining his injury. It was not serious, for the man was soon on his feet and apparently imploring the white men not to kill him. The canoes of the others were already putting as great a distance between the island and themselves as possible.Jack hailed the party below and was soon lowered. His news was a distinct blow to them all. But Uncle Toby took it apathetically. Nothing appeared to disturb him now. Jack asked him for the map, and laid it out on a stone to examine it. It was crudely drawn with a rough picture of the stone chest in one corner.The Esquimaux, who, it appeared, had not been wounded at all but was merely scared into falling flat on the ground, began jabbering wildly as he saw it. Jack noted that the man’s complexion, though dirty, was fairer than he had imagined an Esquimaux’s skin would be and then, too, the man’s hair was distinctly yellowish in color. He was without doubt one of the famous blonde Esquimaux, the tribe of mystery.Carson, who could speak the dialect, began putting quick, sharp questions. The man answered, pointing upward at the cedar tree. Carson seemed strangely excited. He turned to Jack.“You and I and this Esquimaux are going up there to the top of Cedar Mountain,â€� he said.“Why, does he know anything about the stone chest?â€� asked Jack, his heart giving a bound.“He says he does, but he may be lying. We’ll give him a chance to prove what he says.â€�Carson was pulled up first, and then weighted the loop in the rope with a heavy rock and sent it down. Then came the Esquimaux’s turn. He was badly frightened but seemed to be under the impression that he would be killed if he didn’t go, so consented to be hauled up. Jack went last.At length they all stood on the summit. The Esquimaux began talking rapidly. He drew a stone hatchet from his skin-clad body and advanced swiftly to the tree. He inserted his hatchet in a crack in the thickest part of the trunk.Within the trunk Jack caught a glimpse of a large, square box.A door was disclosed.“Great guns! The beggar wasn’t lying!â€� breathed Carson tensely.Jack peered into the hollow of the trunk. The Esquimaux gave a guttural grunt and pointed. Within the trunk Jack caught a glimpse of a large, square box of some sort. It had metal hinges. The Esquimaux pried it open with his hatchet.A dull gleam of gold shone from it.“Uncle Toby was right after all!â€� cried Jack.It was the next morning. All the adventurers were bending over a great heap of golden cups, bowls, breastplates, and other articles, beaten by some unknown and long-vanished race from virgin gold. What the pile of precious metal was worth none of them could estimate, for besides the contents of the stone chest, many other valuable articles had been found in the trunk of the tree.But what gladdened Jack’s heart more than the finding of the treasure, was the fact that, Uncle Toby, with its discovery, had been restored to his senses. The golden articles were carefully counted and inventoried. Then the Esquimaux was given his liberty in one of the boats, a present which delighted him, and was also presented with a number of knick-knacks with which he told Carson he could buy the richest wife of his tribe.The pile of gold was carefully covered up with canvas and, curiously enough, it was not till that had been done and an inventory checked up that any of them thought of the momentous question of how they were going to get back to civilization. After a long discussion, it was decided that that night they would take the boat and reconnoiter the schooner. If it was possible to retake her they would, and thus be in a position to dictate terms to Terrill and Company.During the afternoon Jack set up the wireless apparatus, stringing his aërials from a stout bush far up the cliff side. Then he began to send messages. He was in the midst of this work when there was a sudden stir in the camp. Three newcomers were approaching down the gulch.They were Terrill, Jarrow and another of the crew. Terrill looked crestfallen. Jarrow carried a handkerchief tied to a stick as a token of truce.He noticed the hostile looks cast at him and held up one of his bony-fingered hands deprecatingly.“I have come in peace,â€� he said in a sanctimonious voice.“You precious rascal, I’d like to see you go away in pieces,â€� roared Uncle Toby, who was with difficulty restrained from rushing at the oily rascal.“We all of us make mistakes,â€� muttered Jarrow, rolling his squinting eye horribly. “I’m thinking we all made a big mistake in ever coming here.â€�“Yes, Captain Ready,â€� said Terrill, “there is no chance of ever reaching the top of that cedar plateau. The treasure is secure from us both. We will reach an amicable agreement. You give me notes to pay half the expenses of this cruise, and we will sail for home to-day.â€�Uncle Toby burst into a loud laugh.“Fer a slick feller, Terrill, you’ve got yourself inter as nice a corner as ever a man did,â€� he chuckled, “so now, after trying your best to cheat us and leaving us here to starve fer all you know, you try to get me to sign notes for half of a business venture that you went into with your foxy eyes wide open and intendin’ to swindle me? I’ll see you rot on this island first.â€�“Confound you!â€� shrieked Terrill, “it’s you that are the swindler. You landed me in this out of the way place. If the treasure is there, it’s impossible to get it without an aeroplane.â€�“You’ll go up in ther air yerself in a minute if yer don’t watch out,â€� grinned Noddy.There came a shout from Jack at the wireless.“I’ve got theThespis. Hurray!â€� he cried.They all, even Terrill and his companions, gazed at the boy in silent concentration.“They found fragments of the tender and thought we were all lost,â€� he continued. “Captain Simms congratulates us all. He will make full speed for this island at once.â€�A deep-throated cheer greeted this announcement. All took part in it but Terrill and Carson. Terrill was staring at the seal poacher, whom he had just recognized, as if he had seen a ghost. Carson was the first to find his voice.“So you know me, Mr. Terrill, eh?â€� he grated out. “Well, when that United States vessel reaches here, I’m going to tell all I know about that insurance swindle of yours that drove me to be an outlaw.â€�“Don’t dare to threaten me,â€� shrieked Terrill, “you yourself are being sought for as a seal-poacher. The revenue men will be glad to get you.â€�Carson made a rush for Terrill, who shrank back terrified, but Sherry and Merryweather held back the maddened sailor with their stout arms.“I—er—that is, we must be going,â€� stammered Terrill. “Come, Jarrow. Captain Ready, since there is no treasure to be got and we are in the possession of the schooner with a much stronger force for me than you, I hope you will come to terms before to-night.â€�“Consarn you, I’d die on this desarted island afore I’d come to terms with a rascal of your stripe,â€� shouted Uncle Toby. “There’ll be some of Uncle Sam’s boys here afore long and they can deal with you.â€�Terrill turned fairly green at this. Without another word he walked off up the cove, followed by Jarrow and the other man. Three hours later our party of adventurers saw the schooner rounding the point and heading southward.Terrill had carried out his threat, which they were powerless to check, for they were much the smaller party and the schooner carried guns and rifles. But as the sailing craft wore toward the horizon, a sudden cloud of smoke appeared. Jack sprang to the wireless. In a few seconds he was able to tell them that the smoke heralded the approach of theThespis.A moment later theThespiswas in possession of the facts concerning the larceny of the schooner and was steaming to intercept her. Terrill, of course, did not dare to fight a revenue cutter, and the schooner was turned back to the island. Both craft anchored off the cove about sun down.There was a joyous reunion between Jack and his officers and the crew, with whom he was a general favorite; Sherry and Merryweather came in for their share of interest and commendation.They sat up late in Captain Simms’ cabin telling their stories, and the gold and plate were transferred to the specie room of the revenue craft.The news was broken to Terrill the next day by Uncle Toby. For a time it appeared as if the rapacious rascal would go mad. When he had quieted down, Uncle Toby agreed to pay him for the entire expenses of the expedition.“The rest of the debt I reckon you wiped out yerself,â€� chuckled the old mariner.“I’ll sue you,â€� shrieked Terrill.“Go ahead. I’ve got nothing to fear in a court of law. I guess your case is different,â€� replied Uncle Toby imperturbably.Escorted by theThespis, which had been relieved from iceberg patrol duty for that year, theMorning Star, with Terrill a practical prisoner on board, made a quick run back to St. Johns, N. S., the nearest port. Both Terrill and Jarrow vanished soon after landing, and a few days later there was a vacant suite of offices in the building where Terrill & Co. had once hatched their shady schemes.The gold plate and relics turned out to be immensely valuable and all concerned in the expedition shared Uncle Toby’s generosity, including Noddy Nipper and Pompey. Noddy set up a news stand, which is making good money and Pompey started a colored restaurant where the chocolate-colored élite of New York gather. He never tires of telling them of his adventures, nor do they suffer in the telling.Captain Carson was “set on his feetâ€� by Uncle Toby, having escaped punishment through the mercy of the authorities. He is now part owner of a fine schooner trading between Boston and the West Indies. Captain Toby was urged by his friends to purchase a conventional residence on his accession to fortune, but he still lives on board the oldVenus. He says he would not feel at home anywhere else.As for Jack and Raynor, after a fine time ashore, with plenty of money to spend after their good luck in the Arctic, they soon began to pine again for active life. To Jack, existence ashore, even with the society of pretty Helen Dennis, began to pall, after the many adventures he had encountered.But how he gained another step upward toward his ambition in life, and what further experiences lay before him must be saved for the telling in another volume. And here let us leave them, satisfied that in the future all will be well with Uncle Toby’s companions in the search for the stone chest, and the hardy members of the Iceberg Patrol.THE END.
That was a dizzy and nerve-racking elevator. At the end of the rising rope Jack swung about like a pendulum. At last the edge of the summit was almost reached.
“Steady on,� called down Jack, “I’ll climb the rest of the way,� for he had noticed that it was not a hard scramble, from the point he had reached, to the top.
After a short struggle, he clambered and writhed himself to safety. Then he lay flat on his face for a moment on the flat top of the table mountain, regaining his breath and collecting his faculties.
After a while he rose. He looked over the brink and waved his cap to those below. The sound of a faint cheer was wafted up to him. Jack shouted back.
Then he turned his face upon the surface of the summit of Cedar Mountain. It was not perfectly flat as he had imagined from below. Rocky mounds covered it in every direction. Some struggling bushes and stunted trees also grew there.
From his point of vantage, Jack had an excellent view of the island and the sea for miles.
At almost his first glance about him, he detected the schooner lying in a small bay on the opposite side of the island to the cove. On the beach he spied what appeared to be a camp. A boat was plying between the schooner and the shore.
“I wonder if they have found out yet that the treasure, if it’s here at all, is ungettable,� murmured Jack.
He used caution in going about the top of the mountain after that, crouching behind rocky mounds to avoid being seen from the schooner or Terrill’s camp.
The “island in the air,� as it might have been fittingly called, was filled with deep crannies, in some of which snow still lay. To have fallen down one of them would have meant a miserable, lingering death, without possibility of rescue.
“Well, this is a unique adventure,� thought Jack. “Even if there is no stone chest, it will have been well worth the experience.�
He made for the great dead cedar by a circuitous route. His heart beat a little faster as, at its foot, he saw there had been erected a rough stone cairn.
“That makes part of the story true at any rate,� he reflected, “but I see no sign of the chest.�
The boy did not feel much disappointment. He had distrusted the story right along. So that he was not downcast to find that he had drawn a blank. There was no trace of a stone chest, or anything even remotely resembling it anywhere.
“Euchred!� murmured the boy, “poor Uncle Toby!�
There came a sudden shout from below. The lad rushed to the edge of the cliff and looked over. What he saw gave him an unpleasant shock. Unperceived by him, three canoes had landed on the east end of the island.
Their occupants, wild looking Esquimaux, had stolen up unobserved on the party below. From his post of vantage, Jack saw Carson snatch out a pistol and fire point-blank into the onrush of natives, who brandished spears and clubs. Sherry and Merryweather, too, covered the retreat of the rest with their service revolvers which they had brought from the revenue cutter.
Three of the Esquimaux fell. The rest faltered. They had no firearms. Jack saw Carson, Sherry and Merryweather fire above the natives’ heads to scare them. The ruse succeeded. Picking up two of the wounded, they made a wild dash for the canoes. The white men picked up the third wounded man and Jack saw them giving him some sort of stimulants and examining his injury. It was not serious, for the man was soon on his feet and apparently imploring the white men not to kill him. The canoes of the others were already putting as great a distance between the island and themselves as possible.
Jack hailed the party below and was soon lowered. His news was a distinct blow to them all. But Uncle Toby took it apathetically. Nothing appeared to disturb him now. Jack asked him for the map, and laid it out on a stone to examine it. It was crudely drawn with a rough picture of the stone chest in one corner.
The Esquimaux, who, it appeared, had not been wounded at all but was merely scared into falling flat on the ground, began jabbering wildly as he saw it. Jack noted that the man’s complexion, though dirty, was fairer than he had imagined an Esquimaux’s skin would be and then, too, the man’s hair was distinctly yellowish in color. He was without doubt one of the famous blonde Esquimaux, the tribe of mystery.
Carson, who could speak the dialect, began putting quick, sharp questions. The man answered, pointing upward at the cedar tree. Carson seemed strangely excited. He turned to Jack.
“You and I and this Esquimaux are going up there to the top of Cedar Mountain,� he said.
“Why, does he know anything about the stone chest?� asked Jack, his heart giving a bound.
“He says he does, but he may be lying. We’ll give him a chance to prove what he says.�
Carson was pulled up first, and then weighted the loop in the rope with a heavy rock and sent it down. Then came the Esquimaux’s turn. He was badly frightened but seemed to be under the impression that he would be killed if he didn’t go, so consented to be hauled up. Jack went last.
At length they all stood on the summit. The Esquimaux began talking rapidly. He drew a stone hatchet from his skin-clad body and advanced swiftly to the tree. He inserted his hatchet in a crack in the thickest part of the trunk.
Within the trunk Jack caught a glimpse of a large, square box.
Within the trunk Jack caught a glimpse of a large, square box.
A door was disclosed.
“Great guns! The beggar wasn’t lying!� breathed Carson tensely.
Jack peered into the hollow of the trunk. The Esquimaux gave a guttural grunt and pointed. Within the trunk Jack caught a glimpse of a large, square box of some sort. It had metal hinges. The Esquimaux pried it open with his hatchet.
A dull gleam of gold shone from it.
“Uncle Toby was right after all!� cried Jack.
It was the next morning. All the adventurers were bending over a great heap of golden cups, bowls, breastplates, and other articles, beaten by some unknown and long-vanished race from virgin gold. What the pile of precious metal was worth none of them could estimate, for besides the contents of the stone chest, many other valuable articles had been found in the trunk of the tree.
But what gladdened Jack’s heart more than the finding of the treasure, was the fact that, Uncle Toby, with its discovery, had been restored to his senses. The golden articles were carefully counted and inventoried. Then the Esquimaux was given his liberty in one of the boats, a present which delighted him, and was also presented with a number of knick-knacks with which he told Carson he could buy the richest wife of his tribe.
The pile of gold was carefully covered up with canvas and, curiously enough, it was not till that had been done and an inventory checked up that any of them thought of the momentous question of how they were going to get back to civilization. After a long discussion, it was decided that that night they would take the boat and reconnoiter the schooner. If it was possible to retake her they would, and thus be in a position to dictate terms to Terrill and Company.
During the afternoon Jack set up the wireless apparatus, stringing his aërials from a stout bush far up the cliff side. Then he began to send messages. He was in the midst of this work when there was a sudden stir in the camp. Three newcomers were approaching down the gulch.
They were Terrill, Jarrow and another of the crew. Terrill looked crestfallen. Jarrow carried a handkerchief tied to a stick as a token of truce.
He noticed the hostile looks cast at him and held up one of his bony-fingered hands deprecatingly.
“I have come in peace,� he said in a sanctimonious voice.
“You precious rascal, I’d like to see you go away in pieces,� roared Uncle Toby, who was with difficulty restrained from rushing at the oily rascal.
“We all of us make mistakes,� muttered Jarrow, rolling his squinting eye horribly. “I’m thinking we all made a big mistake in ever coming here.�
“Yes, Captain Ready,� said Terrill, “there is no chance of ever reaching the top of that cedar plateau. The treasure is secure from us both. We will reach an amicable agreement. You give me notes to pay half the expenses of this cruise, and we will sail for home to-day.�
Uncle Toby burst into a loud laugh.
“Fer a slick feller, Terrill, you’ve got yourself inter as nice a corner as ever a man did,� he chuckled, “so now, after trying your best to cheat us and leaving us here to starve fer all you know, you try to get me to sign notes for half of a business venture that you went into with your foxy eyes wide open and intendin’ to swindle me? I’ll see you rot on this island first.�
“Confound you!� shrieked Terrill, “it’s you that are the swindler. You landed me in this out of the way place. If the treasure is there, it’s impossible to get it without an aeroplane.�
“You’ll go up in ther air yerself in a minute if yer don’t watch out,� grinned Noddy.
There came a shout from Jack at the wireless.
“I’ve got theThespis. Hurray!� he cried.
They all, even Terrill and his companions, gazed at the boy in silent concentration.
“They found fragments of the tender and thought we were all lost,� he continued. “Captain Simms congratulates us all. He will make full speed for this island at once.�
A deep-throated cheer greeted this announcement. All took part in it but Terrill and Carson. Terrill was staring at the seal poacher, whom he had just recognized, as if he had seen a ghost. Carson was the first to find his voice.
“So you know me, Mr. Terrill, eh?� he grated out. “Well, when that United States vessel reaches here, I’m going to tell all I know about that insurance swindle of yours that drove me to be an outlaw.�
“Don’t dare to threaten me,� shrieked Terrill, “you yourself are being sought for as a seal-poacher. The revenue men will be glad to get you.�
Carson made a rush for Terrill, who shrank back terrified, but Sherry and Merryweather held back the maddened sailor with their stout arms.
“I—er—that is, we must be going,â€� stammered Terrill. “Come, Jarrow. Captain Ready, since there is no treasure to be got and we are in the possession of the schooner with a much stronger force for me than you, I hope you will come to terms before to-night.â€�
“Consarn you, I’d die on this desarted island afore I’d come to terms with a rascal of your stripe,� shouted Uncle Toby. “There’ll be some of Uncle Sam’s boys here afore long and they can deal with you.�
Terrill turned fairly green at this. Without another word he walked off up the cove, followed by Jarrow and the other man. Three hours later our party of adventurers saw the schooner rounding the point and heading southward.
Terrill had carried out his threat, which they were powerless to check, for they were much the smaller party and the schooner carried guns and rifles. But as the sailing craft wore toward the horizon, a sudden cloud of smoke appeared. Jack sprang to the wireless. In a few seconds he was able to tell them that the smoke heralded the approach of theThespis.
A moment later theThespiswas in possession of the facts concerning the larceny of the schooner and was steaming to intercept her. Terrill, of course, did not dare to fight a revenue cutter, and the schooner was turned back to the island. Both craft anchored off the cove about sun down.
There was a joyous reunion between Jack and his officers and the crew, with whom he was a general favorite; Sherry and Merryweather came in for their share of interest and commendation.
They sat up late in Captain Simms’ cabin telling their stories, and the gold and plate were transferred to the specie room of the revenue craft.
The news was broken to Terrill the next day by Uncle Toby. For a time it appeared as if the rapacious rascal would go mad. When he had quieted down, Uncle Toby agreed to pay him for the entire expenses of the expedition.
“The rest of the debt I reckon you wiped out yerself,� chuckled the old mariner.
“I’ll sue you,� shrieked Terrill.
“Go ahead. I’ve got nothing to fear in a court of law. I guess your case is different,� replied Uncle Toby imperturbably.
Escorted by theThespis, which had been relieved from iceberg patrol duty for that year, theMorning Star, with Terrill a practical prisoner on board, made a quick run back to St. Johns, N. S., the nearest port. Both Terrill and Jarrow vanished soon after landing, and a few days later there was a vacant suite of offices in the building where Terrill & Co. had once hatched their shady schemes.
The gold plate and relics turned out to be immensely valuable and all concerned in the expedition shared Uncle Toby’s generosity, including Noddy Nipper and Pompey. Noddy set up a news stand, which is making good money and Pompey started a colored restaurant where the chocolate-colored élite of New York gather. He never tires of telling them of his adventures, nor do they suffer in the telling.
Captain Carson was “set on his feet� by Uncle Toby, having escaped punishment through the mercy of the authorities. He is now part owner of a fine schooner trading between Boston and the West Indies. Captain Toby was urged by his friends to purchase a conventional residence on his accession to fortune, but he still lives on board the oldVenus. He says he would not feel at home anywhere else.
As for Jack and Raynor, after a fine time ashore, with plenty of money to spend after their good luck in the Arctic, they soon began to pine again for active life. To Jack, existence ashore, even with the society of pretty Helen Dennis, began to pall, after the many adventures he had encountered.
But how he gained another step upward toward his ambition in life, and what further experiences lay before him must be saved for the telling in another volume. And here let us leave them, satisfied that in the future all will be well with Uncle Toby’s companions in the search for the stone chest, and the hardy members of the Iceberg Patrol.
THE END.