Chapter XVI “All that glitters is not Gold!”
One hundred pounds!
A nice little sum in itself, but not one that would tempt a man to imperil his life in as many ways as it contained notes! Surely the old man had not brought me all this distance to give me one hundred pounds at the end of it? The letter would prove to be an order upon his bankers for the bulk of his fortune. The hundred was intended to cover my expenses home to England.
In so far as concerned the hundred pounds my surmise was correct enough. But the letter was not a bank order. It was a very original document, and I purpose giving it in extenso. Here it is:—
“THE PRIZE TO THE SWIFT.
“To my Heir: a message from the tomb.
“MY DEAR HEIR,—If ever you read these words it must happen after my death, because I shall take care that no man handles my money until I am in my grave. That is why I call this a message from the tomb. The dead can gain nothing by lying; therefore I give you no other assurance that what I have to say is the absolute truth.
“You have done well to come so far, whichever of my potential heirs you may be. My treasure is not here, neither are your journeys at an end.
“From South Africa to the Finnish Gulf is a considerable stretch, but one hundred thousand pounds is a large sum; it is a sum that has occasioned its owner more trouble to acquire than is involved in a pleasant journey from Africa to Finland. If it is worth your while to undertake this journey, you will act as I shall presently direct you; if not, you will leave my money to rest where it is, and where, assuredly, neither you nor any relative of mine shall ever find it.
“If my treasure fall into hands for which it was not intended, may my curse rest upon it for ever; and if none find it from this day until the day of resurrection, I, William Clutterbuck, shall be just as happy. Let him who is wise read the following instructions, and obey them to his profit:—
“The island is about five miles in length. Steamers from Hull or London to Cronstadt pass within half a mile of lighthouse.
“Special arrangements must be made with shipowners to land upon island.
“An open space will be found in the forest at about the spot indicated by a cross. Here are four posts, defining the area within which it is necessary to dig.
“The Prize to the Swift.
“W. CLUTTERBUCK.”
By the time I had read to the end of this precious document, my heart was in the usual condition of hearts whose cherished “hope” has been deferred. The disappointment was almost more than I could bear; the thing was so unexpected, and the pill so bitter.
If I had followed the impulse of the moment I should have torn that hateful letter into a thousand pieces and danced upon it, then and there, to the tune of all the worst names I could think of to revile its author withal. Yet, when I glanced at Jack to see how he took this disappointment, I saw that he was shaking with suppressed laughter.
“I would give worlds to have known that old chap!” he whispered. “It is the finest notion for giving healthy occupation to a set of lazy nephews that ever an uncle devised. He was a grand old fellow, this, Peter!”
“What nonsense you talk!” I whispered. “I believe the whole thing is a hoax, from beginning to end. The man was mad on all matters concerning money. He was determined no one should ever touch his treasure, since he could not carry it away himself, and this is his dodge; he will trot us backwards and forwards after the infernal stuff until we die or get our throats cut, and the money will rest unfound in Timbuctoo, or Jerusalem, or the Grand Canary!”
“I don’t think so,” said Jack. “I believe the old man was entirely sane and entirely serious. Just think; if you had a lot of money to leave and no one to leave it to (he didn’t know you, remember, when he wrote this!), except a set of good-for-nothing scamps like these Strongs, and”—
As Jack referred to Strong by name, I glanced up at the sleeping form of that individual, whose very existence I had forgotten for the last few minutes in the excitement of examining the money-box and its contents, and to my horror I distinctly saw that his eyes were wide open, and that he was both looking and listening with every faculty at high pressure. He closed his eyes the instant he saw me look up, and was, apparently, as fast asleep as ever.
I whispered my discovery to Jack, but that practical person was not in the least discouraged.
“Much good may it do him!” he said. “Take a copy of the map of the island, though,” he added, “and of the instructions.”
And this I did, then and there.
It was, of course, useless after this to attempt to conceal our discovery from James Strong and his companion. We therefore determined to take the bull by the horns—in other words, to inform them we had found all there was to be found, and that, consequently, we intended to depart, in order to return presently to England.
It fell to me to undertake the duty of making this communication to my fellow-competitors. I did not care for the job, but, desiring to get it over, I plunged “into the middle of things” at breakfast, in the morning.
“James Strong,” I said, “I think I ought to inform you that I have found what we all came to seek, and that it is all up with your chance and Clutterbuck’s. I should recommend you to return quietly to England, and if you give me no further trouble I shall take no further steps about the affair at Las Palmas.”
“You’re a pretty cool hand, I will say,” said Strong, forcing a laugh. “And you won’t take steps about Las Palmas, won’t you? You are too generous to live, hang me if you aren’t! And do you suppose I’m going to keep quiet about my brother’s murder?”
“Take proceedings against the lion by all means,” said Jack with a laugh. “What a fool you are, James Strong! Why can’t you talk sense among grown men? We are not schoolboys, my friend; you can’t frighten us that way. Now, what do you want for your spoilt guns—the three of them?”
“Curse you and your money!” said Strong; “we shall see what I want for my spoilt guns when we get back to England.”
“Very well,” said Jack; “then I shall settle with Mr. Clutterbuck.”
We did settle with him, paying him one hundred pounds for the three burned guns, to which Jack generously added another hundred pounds for expenses, advising Clutterbuck to return to England at once, and to have, in future, as little to do with Mr. James Strong as circumstances permitted; and this advice Clutterbuck promised to take to heart. I certainly considered Henderson’s settlement in the matter of guns and expenses an extremely generous one.
Then those two rode away from the field, leaving me the conqueror. My victory was a barren one, as I feared; but still, I had found all there was to find, and Jack had quite persuaded me by this time to follow up my success, and to treat old Clutterbuck and his “message from the tomb” with perfect seriousness—nay, I was determined that I would have that hundred thousand pounds if I had to seek it in the ends of the earth, and to dig up half a continent to find it!