presently we stood at an iron milestone which had, i suppose, replaced the old stone road-mark of elizabethan days, and saw thereon the words—“stamford, 4 miles.” then, looking across to the left, we noticed a path leading across the stubble to a long, dark wood.
at the gate leading into the field we awaited philip, and, there being nobody in the vicinity, he quickly joined us, and we all three sped along the path beside the high thorn-hedge until we came to the border of the wood. while on the road we saw, lying in a distant hollow, a church spire which, from our map, we supposed to be that of empingham.
the path ran along the outskirts of the wood, but we soon found a moss-grown stile, and crossing it continued along a by-path which was evidently very seldom used, for it led into the heart of the dark trees, thick undergrowth, and bracken.
“remember the six oaks in line,” usher remarked, halting and looking round, for he was used to exploration in savage lands, and his keen eyes were everywhere.
we, however, failed to discover the trees indicated, and so ill-defined and overgrown was the path we traversed that we were very soon off it, wandering about without any landmark.
i pointed out that a line of oaks existing in elizabeth’s time would most probably have decayed or been cut down long ago. oak is a valuable wood in these days, and during recent years the woodman has played havoc with the fine old trees that once existed in our english parks and forests. even great forests themselves have been cut down and the roots grubbed up within our own short recollections. in more than one spot there, indeed, we discovered marks of the woodman’s work—old stumps where the ivy was trying to hide their nakedness, and in two places we found a newly-felled beech awaiting the woodman’s drag.
the six oaks we at last discovered—or rather two of them, both too decayed to be worthy of the timber merchant’s attention. in line were four stumps, all utterly rotten and half overgrown with bindweed, moss, and ivy. then, standing beside the last stump of the line, we saw something white in the gloom, and went forward to examine it, finding it to be a large piece of grey rock cropping up from the ground, almost covered with yellow lichen, tiny ferns growing in luxuriance in every crevice. before us, at some distance away, gleamed two other rocks, one quite high, and the other only two feet out of the earth. there were three in all—the three sisters, we supposed.
“twenty-nine paces from the south,” reilly remarked.
“that’s the south, where you are standing, doctor!” usher cried, for he had taken his bearing by the sun.
i began at once to walk forward in the direction of the two rocks before me and midway, counting the paces. there were big trees everywhere, for we were in the thickest part of the wood, therefore i could not walk in a straight line, and was compelled to judge the extra paces i took.
at last i reached the twenty-ninth, and it brought me to a stump of a giant tree that had been recently felled and carted away. usher bent quickly to examine the wood, and declared it to be oak.
was this the sapling planted by bartholomew da schorno to mark the spot where he and his two companions had buried the treasure?
could the spanish gold be concealed beneath those enormous roots? was a fortune lying there hidden beneath our feet?
excited as we all were, we did not act with any precipitation. my other two companions made measurements, each walking twenty-nine paces, and after some consultation both declared that i was correct. the stump was actually that of the oak planted by the italian, and our next task was to remove it.
even though the sun shone brightly, it was damp and gloomy within that lonely wood. the undergrowth and bracken were full of moisture, and already our clothes were wet through. we lost no time, however, in setting to work to dig out the enormous root beneath which we hoped to discover that of which we had so long been in search.
all three of us took off coats and waistcoats, and with our spades first dug a deep trench round the stump, and sawed through the main roots that ran deep into the ground in all directions, hoping by this to be able to remove the main portion of the wood bodily. to the uninitiated the “grubbing-up” of a tree root is a very difficult operation, and through the whole morning we worked without being able to move the big mass an inch. having sawed off all the roots we could find we attached a rope to it and harnessed ourselves, all of us pulling our hardest. yet it would not budge.
of a sudden, while we sat upon the obstinate oak-root, perspiring and disappointed, a way out of the difficulty suggested itself to me. why not dig down beside it and then drive a tunnel at right angles beneath?
i made the suggestion, and at once we commenced to suit the action to the word, first digging a big hole some eight feet deep and six across, and then driving at right angles beneath the root.
we had been at work over an hour, slowly excavating beneath the base of the root, when of a sudden my pick struck wood. my companions with their shovels quickly cleared away the earth, when there became disclosed to us a sodden, half rotten plank set up on end. the discovery showed that we had come upon something unusual, especially as the spade worked by usher revealed a few moments later two other boards placed so closely in a line with the first that they seemed joined together.
twenty minutes afterwards we found five thick planks, each half a foot wide, placed together in a straight line, as though it were the side of a square subterranean chamber that had been excavated and boarded up so as to prevent the earth from falling in.
all three of us were almost beside ourselves with impatience to break down that wooden barrier. i took the crowbar and inserted its curved end between two of the stout elm planks in an endeavour to break out one of them. the attempt was, however, futile.
indeed, it took us another half-hour before we had sufficiently excavated the earth, top and bottom, to allow us to make a satisfactory attempt. at last, however, i again placed the crowbar beneath the blackened, sodden wood, and we all three jumped against it with all our might. it did not yield at first, but, working by slow degrees, we gradually loosened it, and then of a sudden the heavy bolts or fastenings within gave way with a loud crack and the plank was wrenched out, disclosing a dark cavity beyond.
usher struck a match and held it within, but its feeble light revealed nothing. we wondered if, after all, someone had been before us, ages ago perhaps, for the chamber seemed hollow and empty.
without loss of time we broke out three other planks from the side of the wooden wall, and then, lighting a candle, i stooped and entered the place, eager to ascertain the truth.
the moment i stepped within a loud cry involuntarily escaped my lips, for my gladdened eyes fell upon some dark objects which lay piled one upon the other in the centre of the small, close-smelling place.
i took the candle nearer, and saw that they were great, iron-bound chests—the chests which, according to the cipher record, were filled with gold!
in an instant my companions were at my side, eager and wild with excitement as myself. each of them lit candles, and we examined the place together. it was not square but oblong, and we had entered at the end. all around were rough-hewn planks upon which were growing great fungi; the roof also being of stout oak planks and beams, one root of the great oak had grown through, twisted grotesquely, and entered the ground beneath, while the planks on the right side had been forced in by the tree’s growth. the place was not quite high enough to allow us to stand upright, yet it seemed far drier than the forest earth we had excavated outside. on examining the walls i found that the planks had been soaked in tar to protect them from the ravages of insects, and that after the place had been constructed the interior had been coated with pitch to render it as water-tight as possible.
in the centre, piled together, were the huge locked chests and sacks of leather secured with big leaden seals, almost like that seal on the italian document i found on board the seahorse.
to say that we danced for joy would perhaps describe our feelings in those moments. fortune was mine at last! even if the heir to the treasure were found one chestful of gold was mine by right. i bent, and by aid of my candle examined the device on the leaden seals, finding it to be the familiar leopard rampant, the arms of the noble house of da schorno.
eager to examine the true nature of our find, we all three of us, by dint of much exertion, managed to move one of the iron-clamped chests from the others and place it on the ground. then we set about breaking off the lid, a difficult matter, for although the iron was rusty those locked bolts were formidable.
at length, however, we successfully accomplished it, and, raising the lid, there was disclosed to our dazzled vision a marvellous and miscellaneous collection of gold and jewels. indeed, it was filled to the brim with almost every conceivable article of jewellery, containing nearly every gem known to the lapidary. sight of it drew a chorus of admiration from our lips.
i took out a wonderful collar of magnificent pearls, bearing a splendid pendant set with a great blood-red ruby, the finest stone i had ever seen. even there, in the faint light of the candles, the gem flashed crimson before our eyes, while the diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds lying heaped within the chest glittered and gleamed in the light as we held our candles over them.
certainly, if every chest—and there were eleven of them in all, beside eight hide bags—were filled with such things, the value of the treasure was immense. in our excitement we all three of us plunged our hands in among the jewels, but reilly withdrew his quickly, for he received a sharp cut from some old bejewelled poignard or sword. although half-stifled in that narrow place, we opened one of the old bags of tough, untanned leather, similar to that on board the seahorse, and found it also full of splendid jewels. a second contained a number of wonderful jewelled sword-hilts, some of them marvels of old spanish workmanship, while in a third were stored jewels roughly cut and set, evidently loot from the moors of barbary.
a second chest we also opened, and so full was it of golden coin that as we broke open the lid the doubloons fell and scattered about the floor. i took up a handful and looked at them by the uncertain light. they were spanish all of them, mostly of the reigns of ferdinand and philip ii.
the sight of so much wealth must, i think, have had a curious effect on us. we scarcely spoke to each other, but with eager fingers quickly examined the marvellous jewels and cast them aside, only reflecting upon their value.
when at last i found tongue and endeavoured to calm my wildly-beating heart, i spoke to my companions regarding the best manner in which to remove the chests and bags to some place of safety.
“it must be done in absolute secrecy,” i pointed out. “and we must lose no time in trying to discover the descendant of the wollertons, otherwise the government may seize the whole as treasure-trove.”
reilly and usher, who were agreed that to open those remaining chests and hide bags in that place was impossible, were engaged in replacing the treasure and closing up the lids securely.
“that’s so,” reilly answered. “but we shall have a difficulty, i fear, in removing all this without any one knowing. we shall require a heavy waggon, in any case,” he added, recollecting the weight of those oak and iron chests even without their precious contents.
“well,” i said, much gratified at our success; “we’ve found the treasure, at any rate.”
“and now, it seems, the difficulty will be to keep it,” laughed reilly, holding up a glittering diamond collar and admiring it.
at that instant i chanced to turn towards the hole by which we had entered and saw, silhouetted against the grey light, the dark figure of a man.
next instant the shadow had disappeared. someone was spying upon us! if the secret leaked out, then we should, i knew too well, lose everything!
