captain horn and his party sat down together the next morning on the plateau to drink their hot coffee and eat their biscuit and bacon, and it was plain that the two ladies, as well as the captain, had had little sleep the night before. ralph declared that he had been awake ever so long, endeavoring to calculate how many cubic feet of gold there would be in that mound if it were filled with the precious metal. "but as i did not know how much a cubic foot of gold is worth," said he, "and as we might find, after all, that there is only a layer of gold on top, and that all the rest is incas' bones, i gave it up."
the captain was very grave—graver, miss markham thought, than the discovery of gold ought to make a man.
"we won't worry ourselves with calculations," said he. "as soon as i can get rid of those black fellows, we will go to see what is really in that tomb, or storehouse, or whatever it is. we will make a thorough investigation this time."
when the men had finished eating, the captain sent them all down to look for driftwood. the stock of wood on the plateau was almost exhausted, and he was glad to think of some reasonable work which would take them away from the cavern.
as soon as they had gone, the captain rose to get the lantern, and called
ralph to accompany him to the mound.
when they were left alone, edna said to mrs. cliff, "let us go over there to that shady rock, where we can look out for a ship with mr. rynders in it, and let us talk about our neighbors in america. let us try to forget, for a time, all about what the captain is going to investigate. if we keep on thinking and talking of it, our minds will not be in a fit condition to hear what he will have to tell us. it may all come to nothing, you know, and no matter what it comes to, let us keep quiet, and give our nerves a little rest."
"that is excellent advice," said mrs. cliff. but when they were comfortably seated in the shade, she said: "i have been thinking, edna, that the possession of vast treasures did not weaken the minds of those incas, i supposed, until yesterday, that the caverns here were intended for some sort of temple for religious ceremonies, and that the great face on the rock out here was an idol. but now i do not believe that. all openings into the cave must once have been closed up, but it would not do to hide the place so that no one could ever find it again, so they carved that great head on the rocks. nobody, except those who had hid the treasure, would know what the face meant."
edna gave a little smile and sighed. "i see it is of no use to try to get that mound out of our minds," she said.
"out of our minds!" exclaimed mrs. cliff. "if one of the rothschilds were to hand you a check for the whole of his fortune, would you expect to get that out of your mind?"
"such a check," said edna, "would be a certain fortune. we have not heard yet what this is."
"i think we are the two meekest and humblest people in the whole world!" exclaimed mrs. cliff, walking up and down the sand. "i don't believe any other two persons would be content to wait here until somebody should come and tell them whether they were millionaires or not. but, of course, somebody must stay outside to keep those colored people from swarming into the cave when they come back."
it was not long after this that mrs. cliff and edna heard the sound of quickly advancing feet, and in a few moments they were joined by ralph and the captain.
"your faces shine like gold," cried edna. "what have you found?"
"found!" cried ralph. "why, edna, we've got—"
"be quiet, ralph," exclaimed edna. "i want to hear what the captain has to say. captain, what is in the mound?"
"we went to the mound," said he, speaking very rapidly, "and when we got to the top and lifted off that stone lid—upon my soul, ladies, i believe there is gold enough in that thing to ballast a ship. it isn't filled quite up to the top, and, of course, i could not find out how deep the gold goes down; but i worked a hole in it as far down as my arm would reach, and found nothing but gold bars like this." then, glancing around to see that none of the africans were returning, he took from his pocket a yellow object about three inches in length and an inch in diameter, shaped like a rough prism, cast in a rudely constructed mortar or mould. "i brought away just one of them," he said, "and then i shut down the lid, and we came away."
"and is this gold?" exclaimed edna, eagerly seizing the bar. "are you sure of it, captain?"
"i am as sure of it as i am that i have a head on my shoulders," said he, "although when i was diving down into that pile i was not quite sure of that. no one would ever put anything but gold in such a hiding-place. and then, anybody can see it is gold. look here: i scraped that spot with my knife. i wanted to test it before i showed it to you. see how it shines! i could easily cut into it. i believe it is virgin gold, not hardened with any alloy."
"and that mound full of it!" cried mrs. cliff.
"i can't say about that," said the captain. "but if the gold is no deeper than my arm went down into it, and all pure metal at that, why—bless my soul!—it would make anybody crazy to try to calculate how much it is worth."
"now, then," exclaimed mrs. cliff, "whom does all this gold belong to? we have found it, but whose is it?"
"that is a point to be considered," said the captain. "what is your opinion?"
"i have been thinking and thinking and thinking about it," said mrs. cliff. "of course, that would have been all wasted, though, if it had turned out to be nothing but brass, but then, i could not help it, and this is the conclusion i have come to: in the first place, it does not belong to the people who govern peru now. they are descendants of the very spaniards that the incas hid their treasure from, and it would be a shame and a wickedness to let them have it. it would better stay there shut up for more centuries. then, again, it would not be right to give it to the indians, or whatever they call themselves, though they are descendants of the ancient inhabitants, for the people of spanish blood would not let them keep it one minute, and they would get it, after all. and, besides, how could such treasures be properly divided among a race of wretched savages? it would be preposterous, even if they should be allowed to keep it. they would drink themselves to death, and it would bring nothing but misery upon them. the incas, in their way, were good, civilized people, and it stands to reason that the treasure they hid away should go to other good, civilized people when the incas had departed from the face of the earth. think of the good that could be done with such wealth, should it fall into the proper hands! think of the good to the poor people of peru, with the right kind of mission work done among them! i tell you all that the responsibility of this discovery is as great as its value in dollars. what do you think about it, edna?"
"i think this," said miss markham: "so far as any of us have anything to do with it, it belongs to captain horn. he discovered it, and it is his."
"the whole of it?" cried ralph.
"yes," said his sister, firmly, "the whole of it, so far as we are concerned. what he chooses to do with it is his affair, and whether he gets every bar of gold, or only a reward from the peruvian government, it is his, to do what he pleases with it."
"now, edna, i am amazed to hear you speak of the peruvian government," cried mrs. cliff. "it would be nothing less than a crime to let them have it, or even know of it."
"what do you think, captain?" asked edna.
"i am exactly of your opinion, miss markham," he said. "that treasure belongs to me. i discovered it, and it is for me to decide what is to be done with it."
"now, then," exclaimed ralph, his face very red, "i differ with you! we are all partners in this business, and it isn't fair for any one to have everything."
"and i am not so sure, either," said mrs. cliff, "that the captain ought to decide what is to be done with this treasure. each of us should have a voice."
"mrs. cliff, miss markham, and ralph," said the captain, "i have a few words to say to you, and i must say them quickly, for i see those black fellows coming. that treasure in the stone mound is mine. i discovered the mound, and no matter what might have been in it, the contents would have been mine. all that gold is just as much mine as if i dug it in a gold-mine in california, and we won't discuss that question any further. what i want to say particularly is that it may seem very selfish in me to claim the whole of that treasure, but i assure you that that is the only thing to be done. i know you will all agree to that when you see the matter in the proper light, and i have told you my plans about it. i intended to claim all that treasure, if it turned out to be treasure. i made up my mind to that last night, and i am very glad miss markham told me her opinion of the rights of the thing before i mentioned it. now, i have just got time to say a few words more. if there should be any discussion about the ownership of this gold and the way it ought to be divided, there would be trouble, and perhaps bloody trouble. there are those black fellows coming up here, and two of them speak english. eight of my men went away in a boat, and they may come back at any time. and then, there were those two cape cod men, who went off first. they may have reached the other side of the mountains, and may bring us assistance overland. as for davis, i know he will never come back. maka brought me positive proof that he was killed by the rackbirds. now, you see my point. that treasure is mine. i have a right to it, and i stand by that right. there must be no talk as to what is to be done with it. i shall decide what is right, and i shall do it, and no man shall have a word to say about it. in a case like this there must be a head, and i am the head."
the captain had been speaking rapidly and very earnestly, but now his manner changed a little. placing his hand on ralph's shoulder, he said: "now don't be afraid, my boy, that you and your sister or mrs. cliff will be left in the lurch. if there were only us four, there would be no trouble at all, but if there is any talk of dividing, there may be a lot of men to deal with, and a hard lot, too. and now, not a word before these men.—maka, that is a fine lot of fire-wood you have brought. it will last us a long time."
the african shrugged his shoulders. "hope not," he said. "hope mr.
rynders come soon. don't want make many fires."
as captain horn walked away toward ralph's lookout, he could not account to himself for the strange and unnatural state of his feelings. he ought to have been very happy because he had discovered vast treasures. instead of that his mind was troubled and he was anxious and fearful. one reason for his state of mind was his positive knowledge of the death of davis. he had believed him dead because he had not come back, but now that he knew the truth, the shock seemed as great as if he had not suspected it. he had liked the englishman better than any of his seamen, and he was a man he would have been glad to have had with him now. the cape cod men had been with him but a short time, and he was not well acquainted with them. it was likely, too, that they were dead also, for they had not taken provisions with them. but so long as he did not really know this, the probability could not lower his spirits.
but when he came to analyze his feelings, which he did with the vigorous directness natural to him, he knew what was the source of his anxiety and disquietude. he actually feared the return of rynders and his men! this feeling annoyed and troubled him. he felt that it was unworthy of him. he knew that he ought to long for the arrival of his mate, for in no other way could the party expect help, and if help did not arrive before the provisions of the rackbirds were exhausted, the whole party would most likely perish. moreover, when rynders and his men came back, they would come to rare good fortune, for there was enough gold for all of them.
but, in spite of these reasonable conclusions, the captain was afraid that rynders and his men would return.
"if they come here," he said to himself, "they will know of that gold, for i cannot expect to keep such fellows out of the cavern, and if they know of it, it will be their gold, not mine. i know men, especially those men, well enough for that."
and so, fearing that he might see them before he was ready for them,—and how he was going to make himself ready for them he did not know,—he stood on the lookout and scanned the ocean for rynders and his men.
