“Where’s the rope?” he asked, and, instead of replying, the sailor lighted a match, saying as he did so:
“I’d like to have a squint around before we do very much, for it ain’t sure----”
“Have you got the rope?” Gil cried, impatiently.
“It’s here, an’ we’ll soon have you out.”
“Can’t you send down some kind of a light? I’ve fallen on what I truly believe is the decaying fragments of a chest, and unless I’m very much mistaken in regard to what I’ve got in my hand, we’ve struck the treasure at last.”
Strange as it may seem, Gil’s announcement caused Nelse to forget entirely the danger by which they were surrounded, and, regardless of the fact that none of the party were certain of ever leaving the tunnel alive, his only desire now was to gain possession of the supposed hoard.
The sailor was not one whit less excited; he had a stock of matches in his pockets, but could not find them until after a search of several seconds, owing to extreme agitation caused by Gil’s announcement.
“Do hurry!” Nelse cried, impatiently, as the man fumbled about his clothing. “Something may happen to prevent us from seeing the treasure if you spend so much time doing nothing.”
“I’m trying to find another match, an’ then, perhaps, we can rig up somethin’ that’ll answer for a torch, but it seems as if my fingers were all thumbs jest now.”
“Don’t keep me waiting here all day, for I want to know what I’ve struck,” Gil cried, and after a few seconds more a tiny flame told that the sailor had finally succeeded in finding that which was wanted so badly just at that moment.
Nelse seized the first opportunity to search with his eyes for something which would serve as a torch, but the floor of the tunnel was as clean as though swept with a broom, and he said to Gil:
“There isn’t so much as a twig here, but I reckon we can afford to use a few matches so’s you can find out what you’ve got. Send it up, an’ I’ll soon see if it is the article we’ve been hunting for.”
“How far down are you?” the sailor asked, as, the match having been consumed, he crept toward the aperture.
“I can’t tell, but it seemed as if I fell a long distance. We’ll soon find out if you’ll give me the chance.”
Nelse paid out on the rope until he was certain not less than fifteen feet had been lowered into what he hoped would prove to be a veritable treasure chamber, and then Gil shouted: