cane, chuckling and talking in his customary deferential manner, which has always made him a very acceptable servant about my premises.

I approached without being observed, and did not hail them, for I did not wish to intrude too suddenly upon what appeared to be a very amusing subject of conversation. I heard Jamesby say laughingly, "Why, it was in the paper this morning—five or six columns of it! It was a great big yarn. I can't imagine why he never told you anything about it."

I knew what they were talking about. I was well aware that I had told my tale of Money Island for publication; for had I not been sought after by men, women, and children for every imaginable explanation and sidelight relating to the story which might have been omitted from the MS furnished the printer? And had I not been asked to repeat by living voice facts in the narrative which I had written, as I thought, with entire clearness in the published story? The boys had all read the story, and I had been put to my wits' end to answer the questions asked by them; but I had assured several of them that if they would take a copy of the paper, go to the Island and there read it on the very spot where the treasure had been buried, and then and there take a careful survey of the situation, there would be no difficulty in their comprehending even the slightest detail. This seemed to me to be a very sensible suggestion; and I suppose some of them will carry it out.

While I really enjoyed the experience of having entertained so many people that day, I was fairly well fatigued when I reached home, where I thought I could at least be quiet and free from the constant inquiries of interested friends.

But here was Jamesby with designs against me! He had dashed my fond hopes of rest; although he was somehow always considerate and endurable. I could never become impatient with him, even if I knew he was going to make demands upon me for more information concerning Money Island.

"What is Uncle Henry telling you, Jamesby?" I asked on drawing closer to them.

"Oh," he answered in a somewhat self-conscious manner, "he was about to tell me of an experience of his in money digging."

Now, I had heard old Henry tell that story before. It was one which seemed to justify his very sober ideas as to money getting by any other means than by one's daily work.

"Well, Henry," I said, taking my seat also on the box, "did you really ever dig for money?"—as if I had never before heard him say anything about it. The implied doubt would, I knew, make him all the more ready to talk.

He replied promptly, with a grin of interest, "Yes, sah, cose I tried money diggin'."

Then he paused as if to await an invitation to proceed. "Go on, Uncle Henry," urged Jamesby.

Henry shifted his position, and, leaning upon his cane from another angle, went on: "'Twas dis away. Once uponer time me an' John Gomus an' John Flowers, we was round at Mr. Holmes' stables, right back of Mr. Kidder's whey I uster keep my horse and kyart; dere was woods right dare den, sah, an' a graveyard; an' I had a horse and kyart of my own. So one evenin' an ole white 'oman come fum de Sound, an' she tole us that a sperit had done tole her whey some money was buried; an' she wanted us to come down dere and dig it up; she couldn't dig for it, but she knowed whey 'twas—de sperit had tole her. So we got togedder and made a club to go down—three of us. De place was on Wrightsville Sound, not fur from Mr. Wright's place.

"De sign was, dat one read de Bible back'ards, and no one speak—all hadter go by signs, an' dat'd keep de sperits fum pesterin' us. John Gomus, he had de rod goin' roun', an' fonn' a place to stick it. I dunno why he stick it whey he did. De rod pinted right down dere; and right whey de rod pinted we digged. When we commence diggin', it was about half-past eight o'clock, and we worked hard, sah. We digged a hole big enough to set a small house in. John, he kep' bearin' on de rod, an' de rod it kep' goin' down. Den de rod at las' struck sumpn; and we was so glad, thinkin' we'd struck de pot! Every one was rejoiced! We didn' talk, but jes fling up de dirt! An' when we dig down dere, sah, what you spose 'twas. Nothin' but a big ole cow's horn. An' after all dat diggin'! We done an' digged a hole 'bout fifteen or twenty feet across, and goodness knows how deep; an' 'twas 'bout four in de mornin' before we quit. We pack up an' come back home, feelin' jes as cheap as a wet chicken.

"De ole 'oman come 'roun agin, an' tole us dat de money was dere; fer de sperit had tole her agin 'twas dere. But we warn't anxious to try for it agin. We thought we done enough."

Old Henry chuckled, and limped away; and we both laughed heartily at his droll yarn. Jamesby enjoyed the tale particularly; and, although I felt that it might somehow be at my expense, I was duly amused.

When Jamesby descended from his hilarious heights, he turned to me rather gravely, and said, "Now, I want it from your own lips; did you really dig for money on Money Island?"

I answered, "I did."

"And," he continued, "was that a true story you told about it?"

"Now, Jamesby," I replied, "I really cannot endure this doubt cast upon the truthfulness of my story. I decline to discuss the matter. You have read the paper, and you know me as the author of the story."

"But," he added in rather a comical tone, "there are some things which (with all due respect for your trustworthiness) call for a more positive confirmation."

I knew I would not have written anything on so important a subject without proper consideration; and he knew it too. However, I realized the fact that an effort to believe such a story as I had offered to the public may have made a somewhat weighty demand upon credulity, at least with some people. To answer his last suggestion, I merely drew out of my pocket a copy of the "Savannah Morning News", containing an account of a stranger's mysterious movements about Warsaw Island near Savannah, and his sudden disappearance, leaving good evidence that he had carried with him a hidden treasure found there, and which tradition had stated lay upon the Island. I also reminded him of the fact that Dutch Island near Savannah is full of what are known as "treasure holes", which have been made by persons seeking the buried booty of the pirates of the olden times. He knew all about these; and he had also heard that some of the enterprising explorers into the mysteries of that island had been successful.

But Jamesby was still incredulous. So I turned the conversation to my fowls; and he was very ready to admit that I had told the genuine thing in describing to him some of the excellent points of my prize birds. There was no doubt that I could exhibit several specimens which any fancier would be proud of.

Jamesby remained to tea, so that we could go to the lodge together, and I enjoyed the quiet stroll down town with him. We had hardly entered the hall, though, before the historian of the town, who is also a leading Mason, approached me regarding my Money Island revelations. "Sir," he said, "I regard it throughout as a most interesting and plausible narrative; and I am glad we have been favored by being allowed to read it. I have made a study of the pirates who infested our coast in the early colonial days, and I know that this section, particularly the lower region of the Cape Fear, was a favorite rendezvous for them. It is known upon most reliable information that there are immense quantities of captured treasure secreted along the coast, and the wonder is that there have not been some really serious efforts to find it."

Another gentleman added, "Yes, and they also buried treasure further down South; for at my old home (and I speak the honest trath) I have stood in the hole from which my friend, Mr. Coachman, unearthed accidentally a small fortune,