The Coming Wave; Or, The Hidden Treasure of High Rock, Oliver Optic [story read aloud TXT] 📗

[Pg 273]

"Donner und blitz!" exclaimed Herr Schlager, when he realized that the wet and sandy bag on the counter before him contained money, for he was too familiar with the chink of gold to mistake the sound. "Was haben sie, hier, Leopold?"

"Money, gold, specie, coin, geld," replied the boatman, hardly less excited than his Teutonic uncle.

"So mooch golt! Der bag is wet mit der sand, and covered mit salt water! Himmel! where so much money haf you found, Leopold?"

"Put it in the safe, uncle, and we will talk about it afterwards," added the young man. "I haven't opened this bag, and I don't want it opened."[Pg 274]

"No? What for you want him not to be open?"

"It is not mine."

"Not your money? Dat is bad!"

"I wish it were mine, certainly, uncle; but, as it is not, I mean to take good care of it for the owner."

"Den I sall seal up der bag for you," replied the watch-maker, taking a piece of red tape from one of his drawers, which he wound tightly over the original string of the bag.

Then, lighting the spirit-lamp which he used with his blow-pipe, he melted a large mass of sealing-wax upon the knot of the red tape, and pressed upon it the great seal hanging from his watch-chain. Herr Schlager was a simple-minded man, and doubtless he believed that the seal was a perfect protection to the contents of the bag. Possibly he thought that no mortal man would dare to "cut the red-tape." Leopold was less superstitious in regard to the sanctity of a seal; and he relied more upon the protective power of the iron safe than upon that of the tape or seal. His uncle lodged in a little room in the rear of his shop for the better security[Pg 275] of his goods; and the young man felt that the treasure would be safe in the watch-maker's strong-box. Herr Schlager dropped the bag into one of the drawers of the safe.

"Now, where you was get him?" demanded the Teuton, as he closed the iron door.

"I dug it out of the sand on the beach at High Rock, uncle," replied Leopold.

"Den it pelongs to you, mine poy."

"Not at all, uncle; at least, not yet a while."

Leopold told the whole story, from Harvey Barth's diary down to date, as briefly as he could.

"If I don't find any owner, I suppose the money belongs to me," he added.

"Himmel! Yes!" answered the watch-maker.

"Now, uncle, don't you let anybody, not even my father, have the bag without my consent."

"No, Leopold; nobody shall touch him," added Herr Schlager, as he locked the door of the safe, and put the key in his pocket.

The money-digger was satisfied that his uncle would be faithful to the letter of his promise;[Pg 276] and he hastened back to the hotel, to attend to his usual duties.

But the malignant little Mr. Redmond had already told the story of the hidden treasure, so far as he new it, to an audience in the office of the Sea Cliff House, which included the landlord. Of course the narrative was full of interest; and in the course of half an hour it was travelling from mouth to mouth up the main street of Rockhaven as rapidly as though it had been written out, and sent by express. When the finder of the treasure entered the hotel office, the subject was still under discussion.

"Leopold wouldn't do the fair thing, and divy with Stumpy and me," said the little fop, when he had finished his story. "If he had, I would have kept the whole thing secret as he wished me to do."

"Why should he share the money with you, Charley?" demanded Mr. Hamilton.

"Because I was in at the death, and that's the way to do the thing when any money is found. Leopold was mean about it."

"Perhaps he was; but my boy hasn't the reputation of being mean," added the landlord.[Pg 277]

"I don't think Charley has any claim," said Mr. Redmond, senior, the father of the other Mr. Redmond, "however it may be with Stumpy."

"Here he is, to speak for himself," added Mr. Hamilton, as Leopold entered the room. "They say you are mean because you would not divide the money with Charley. How is that, my boy?"

"I certainly would not divide with him, or with anybody, for that matter," replied the skipper of the Rosabel. "I found the money, all alone by myself, on the night before the Orion arrived. I left it where it was, because I did not know what to do with it," replied Leopold.

"Where is it now?" asked the landlord.

"In my uncle's safe. I have not opened the bag, and uncle Leopold sealed it up. I told him not to let anybody touch it without my consent."

"I think that is the safest place for it," said Mr. Bennington. "Then it appears that Miss Liverage was not crazy, after all."

"She was right in every respect. If she could have told me where to look for the gold, I should have found it," replied Leopold.[Pg 278]

"But how happened you to find it?" asked Mr. Hamilton.

"I didn't happen to find it, sir. I went right to the place where it was, and dug it up, after I had read the directions in Harvey Barth's diary."

"But where did you get the diary, Leopold?" inquired the landlord.

"I found it in the chimney, when the old house was pulled down."

"You didn't say anything about it," added Mr. Bennington, rather reproachfully.

"You laughed at me, father, after Miss Liverage had gone, and I thought I wouldn't say anything more until I found out whether Miss Liverage was crazy or not. Then, when I read the diary, I didn't know but Harvey Barth might have been crazy when he wrote it, for I couldn't find any such rock as he mentioned till I went down to High Rock in a thunder-storm. I am willing to tell all I know about it; but it's rather a long story."

"And dinner is nearly ready," added the landlord, glancing at the clock.

"What is it? We want to know about it,"[Pg 279] said Belle Peterson, rushing into the office, followed by Rosabel.

The story had been carried to the parlor by Mr. Redmond, junior, who had so little confidence in the future intentions of Leopold, that he had revealed the secret from motives of revenge.

"We will hear the story after dinner," said Mr. Hamilton.

"We want to hear it, too," interposed Miss Belle.

"Yes father," added Rosabel; "and all the ladies in the parlor want to hear it."

"Then Leopold shall tell it in the parlor, if he is willing."

"I'm willing, sir," replied Leopold. "All I have to say about the money now is, that I believe it belongs to somebody—to the heirs of the man who buried it in the sand; and, as I told Stumpy and Mr. Redmond, I intend to find those heirs, if I can."

"That's right, Leopold," exclaimed Mr. Hamilton, patting the boatman's shoulder. "Be honest before you are generous."

Leopold and his father went to the dining-room,[Pg 280] to prepare for their duties there. The landlord did not think as much as usual at this time about his chowder, chicken, and roast beef. The time was rapidly approaching when the interest on the mortgage note would be due. His New York guests had not paid their bills in whole or in part, and he was still very short of funds. The vision of this twelve hundred dollars in gold which his son had dug up from the sands of the sea, was intensely exciting to him. The gold transmuted into currency, when a dollar of the one was worth more than two of the other, would enable him to pay his interest and discharge the mortgage upon his furniture. He wanted the money, and he was not particularly pleased with Leopold's idea of finding, at some remote period, the heirs of the man who had buried it. However, Mr.