The Hispaniola Plate

And this concluded their find

"Altogether," said Reginald, "I'll bet that Nicholas was not far wrong in his computation of the value of the things in his own day, and, I expect, even in these times, the contents of the oblong box and the chests won't fall far short of his 'fiftie thousand guineas.' But one thing we ought to keep for luck, Barbara, and never part with-and that's the skull, or 'Death,' as Nick called it. It kept its watch and ward well through all the years."

*******

That evening, as the sun dipped below Porto Rico, they sat once more together, as they had so often sat in the last month, upon the verandah of Barbara's house. Within, in the living-room, were piled the chests and the oblong box, all having been brought from the Key to the shore, and from the shore to the building, by their united efforts. And on Barbara's face there was a look of sadness pitiful to see, and in her eyes the signs that the tears were not far away.

"It seems," she said, speaking very low, "as though with the finding of this treasure my life is finished, even as the quest of my family is finished, too. There is nothing more to be done."

"Is there not, Barbara?" asked Reginald, also speaking low, and with more seriousness in his tone than had been apparent since they had grown such friends and intimates. "Is there not? Is there not a long lifetime before you in which to enjoy your new-found wealth-the wealth that has come to you after two centuries of search for it?"

"Oh!" she exclaimed, springing to her feet and standing before him, "why speak in that way? Why say such things? The wealth is yours, yours only, and you know it. It was you who brought it to light. It was your ancestor's, who might have taken it away with him for ever had he chosen. And when it was at last found, where was it? Not even on our land, on the property that is mine. What part, what share have I in it?"

"I will tell you, Barbara," he said, rising himself, also, and standing by her, while, if possible, his voice became now more deep and earnest. "I will tell you what part and share is yours. The share not only of all that we have to-day unearthed, but of my life. The share of everything I have in this world, even this treasure, if it is rightly mine. My sweet, I loved you almost from the very first, I loved you beyond all doubt from the time that he came back, and I knew that, together, we must protect ourselves from him. Barbara, I love you now, and shall love you all my life until I die. Will you not share that life with me, share all with me for ever?"

His arm stole round her as he spoke and he drew her softly towards him, while, as he did so, her golden head drooped to his shoulder, the soft eyes looked up at him from beneath the dark lashes, and, for the first time, their lips met.

THE END

Afterwards King George I. of England. – Ed.

2

The drink of the Navy prior to the introduction of rum by Admiral Vernon.

3

He was Astronomer Royal from 1719 to 1742, but in Phips' time had made many improvements and suggestions in the necessary apparatus for divers. – J. B. – B.

4

1st lieutenant.

5

Passenger.

6

Peter Martyr calls it a solid piece of gold, and says more than a thousand persons had seen and handled it. – J. B. – B.

7

This would appear at first sight to be an error on the part of Nicholas Crafer. It was not so, however; Cardinal Bourbon was elected King of France by the league in 1589 (against Henri IV.), under the name of Charles X., and some coins were struck by him. – J. B. – B.