The Golden Magnet Part 30

"I don't know, Tom," I whispered huskily, "but--but it feels like what we are in search of."

"Do you think it is gold, Mas'r Harry?" he hissed in a voice that told of his own excitement.

"Gold or silver, Tom," I said in a choking voice.

Then I felt faint. Suspicions of a horrible nature seemed to float across my brain. "Suppose," I thought, "Tom should murder me now to possess himself of the treasure, load the mules, and then bury me in the grave we had dug. The water would flow over it again in a few hours, and who would ever suspect the man who went away laden with wealth?"

The next moment, though, I had driven away the base thoughts, and was leaning against the rock above me.

"Tom," I said, "I'm faint; go and fetch the spirits."

"I will that, Mas'r Harry," he whispered, "for I don't know how it is, I'm feeling rather queer myself. It's this stuff, I think. I've got hold of one of these little tiles, and one can't see it, but it feels yaller."

Tom pa.s.sed another plate into my hands, when running my fingers over it my heart beat more rapidly, for I could feel an embossed surface that told of cunning work, and I longed intensely to get a light and examine what we had found though I knew such a proceeding would be folly.

In a few minutes Tom was back, and a draught from the bottle we had brought revived us, so that we quickly cleared out the wet sand and water that kept filtering in, and then as fast as we could grope drew out plate after plate and placed them in one of the coffee-bags Tom had brought.

We did not need telling that it was gold. The sonorous ring told that as plate touched plate. The darkness, as I said, was intense. But I could almost fancy that a bright yellow phosph.o.r.escent halo was spread around each plate as we drew it from its sandy bed.

"But suppose, Mas'r Harry, as it's only bra.s.s?" whispered Tom suddenly.

"Bra.s.s, Tom? No, it's gold--rich, yellow gold; and now who dares say I'm a beggar?"

"Not me, Mas'r Harry. But I won't believe it's gold till I've seen it by daylight. 'Tain't lead, or it wouldn't ring. 'Tain't iron, for it will cut. I've been trying it."

"Hush, Tom!" I said hoa.r.s.ely. "Work--work! or it will be day, and we shall be discovered."

As I spoke I bent down into the hole to drag out what felt like a vase, but all beaten in and flattened. Then another, and four or five curiously shaped vessels.

"Fetch another bag, Tom," I whispered; for the one we now had felt heavy, and I wanted them to be portable.

"Wait a bit, Mas'r Harry," whispered Tom. "Here's a rum un here--big as a table top. Lend a hand, will you."

Both trembling with excitement we toiled and strained, and at last extricated a great flat circular plate that seemed to weigh forty or fifty pounds, and stood it against the rock.

And now in the wild thirst I forgot all about bags or concealment as we kept sc.r.a.ping out the sand and water, and then brought out more plates, more cups, thin flat sheets, bars of the thickness of a finger and six inches long. Then another great round disc similar to the one I had dragged out with Tom; and then--then--sand--water--sand--water--sand-- one solitary plate.

"There must be more, Tom!" I whispered excitedly. "Where is the rod?"

He felt about for a few minutes, and I heard the metal clinking upon metal as he drew the iron rod towards him. Then, feeling for the pointed end, he thrust it down here and there again and again.

"Try you, Mas'r Harry," he said huskily.

I took the rod, and felt with it all over the pit; but everywhere it ran down easily into the sand, and I felt that we must have got all there was hidden there. And now, for the first time, I began to think of the value. Why, if this were all pure gold that lay piled-up by our side, there must be thousands upon thousands of pounds' worth--twenty thousands at the least. But a pang shot through my brain the next instant, for the thought had struck me, suppose it should prove but copper after all.

The day would show it, and the day I hoped would soon be there. But now a new trouble a.s.sailed me. What about Tom--what share would he expect?

"Mas'r Harry," said Tom just then, "if this here all turns out to be gold you'll be a rich man, won't you?"

"Yes, Tom," I said, "very wealthy."

My words would hardly leave my lips. "Then you'll do the handsome thing by me when I get married, won't you, Mas'r Harry?"

"What shall I do, Tom?" I said, wondering the while what he would say.

"'Low me a pound a week and my 'bacco as long as I live."

"Yes, Tom, two if you like," I exclaimed aloud. "But now lend a hand here and let's get these behind the rock farther in."

Fatigue! We never gave that a thought, as, each seizing one of the round s.h.i.+elds, we carried them cautiously in and felt our way to where was the food, taking back with us more of the coffee-bags, in which we carefully packed the flattened cups, and each bore back a heavy bag, but only hastily to return again and again to collect the plates, and sheets, and bars we had rapidly thrown out; when we returned once more to throw ourselves upon the sand and feel over it with our hands again and again, creeping in every direction, forcing in our fingers and running the sand through them till we felt certain that nothing was left behind.

"Now, then, Tom," I said. "Quick!--the spades. There must not be a trace of this night's work left at daybreak."

Tom's hard breathing was the only response, as, seizing his spade and giving me mine, he forced back the sand, helping me to shovel it in until the floor was once more pretty level, and we knew the water would do the rest, even to removing the traces of our running to and fro, unless the sharp Indian eye should be applied closely to the floor of the cavern.

We toiled on, working furiously in our excitement, feeling about so as to compensate as well as we could for the want of sight, till I knew that no more could be done, when, retreating inward to where we had dammed the stream, we let the water flow swiftly back into its old channel, leaving the bits of rock where they were, save one or two whose loosening soon set the water free, so that it swept with a rush over the place where we had so lately toiled; and then, dripping with perspiration and water, we went and sat down to eat and rest just as the first faint streaks of dawn began to show in the valley, and we could see that there was a barrier across the mouth of the cave.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

EXCITING TIMES.

Light--more light, but still not enough to tell of what our treasure was composed. If we had been at the mouth of the cave it would have been, possible, but where we were the darkness was still thick darkness.

Twice I had impatiently gazed at the metal I had been fingering with all a miser's avidity, when my attention was taken by an object upon a rock close by where we had worked during the night--a toil that I had been ready to declare a dream, time after time, but for the solid reality beneath my hands.

Tom caught sight of the object at the same moment as myself; and together, moved by the same impulse, we raced down, secured it, and then ran panting back with a gloriously-worked but battered _golden_ cup, that we had placed upon the rock above us, and which had thus escaped our search.

The next minute we were gazing tremblingly back to see whether we had been observed, for to lose now the wondrous treasure in our grasp seemed unbearable.

But no--all was still; and, for my part, I could do nothing but pant with excitement as the truth dawned more upon me with the coming day, that I was by this one stroke immensely rich. The treasure was gold-- rich, ruddy gold, all save one of the great round s.h.i.+elds, and that was of ma.s.sive silver, black almost as ink with tarnish; while its fellow-s.h.i.+eld--a sun, as I now saw, as I afterwards made out the other to be a representation of the moon--was of the richer metal.

I was right, then--Garcia could be set at defiance, my uncle freed. But it was all too good to be true; and that little If thrust itself into my thoughts--that little If that has so much to do with our lives.

_If_ I could get the gold safely away!

My brow knit as I thought of this, and my hand closed involuntarily upon the gun; but directly after I felt that we must bestir ourselves to pack our treasure safely.

"Let us have something by way of breakfast, Tom," I said hastily, after throwing my coat over the part of the treasure visible.

We ate as people eat whose thoughts are upon other things, till we were roused by a whinnying from the interior of the cave, when Tom hastily carried some maize to the mules so as to ensure their silence in case of the Indians again approaching the place.

As far as I could make out from the obscurity where I was there was not a trace of the sand having been disturbed--the water had removed it all; but I trembled as I thought of the consequences of some Indian eye having seen the golden vessel, for I knew that we should never have been allowed to return alive.

My plans now were to spend a portion of the day in carefully packing our treasure as compactly as possible, and then, when night had well fallen, loading the mules and making the best of our way to the hacienda--easy practicable plans apparently; but Fate declared that I had not yet earned the wealth.

I said that Tom had gone to see about the mules, and for a few minutes I was hesitating about the nearest bag to me--one which, from the feel, contained a mixture of bars, plates, and cups, that I knew might be packed in a quarter the s.p.a.ce.