by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XIX.
A SEARCH FOR THE LOST TREASURE.
The two steamers had passed the bend of the river, and we had gone byforts Jackson and St. Philip without a word being said of thehistorical events which were connected with them. We were too busy withthe inquiry before us to give any attention to the surroundings, thoughI could see that our passengers on board the Sylvania were discussingwhat they saw on the mighty river. But nothing could have been moreuninteresting than the banks of the river near its delta.
It was a season of high water, and the low lands beyond the levee oneither side were overflowed. Occasionally we passed a vessel going downthe stream, or a powerful skeleton-tug dragging a ship against therapid current. There was little to be seen besides the muddy flow ofthe stream all around us, and the fringe of trees that grew on thelevee.
If the theory we had advanced, and supported by such evidence as wehad, was correct, the four thousand dollars the bank messenger had lostwere on board the Islander. If Nick had taken the package, he had notleft it behind him when he started out on his travels. We went downinto the after-cabin. The captain said Nick had occupied the largestate-room on the starboard side, while Cornwood had taken possessionof the corresponding one on the port side. We found enough of theeffects of each in his state-room to settle the question of hisoccupancy of the room. Four thousand dollars was a large sum of money,and we did not expect to find it lying around loosely in the room ofeither.
Captain Blastblow volunteered to examine Cornwood's state-room, while Irendered the same service in that of Nick Boomsby. I found a bundlewhich contained the runaway's clothing. I searched it thoroughly, butthere was no package of any kind in it. I opened all the drawers andlockers in the room with no better success. I tore the bed to piecesand removed the berth sack. The latter was a hair mattress of the bestquality. I looked to see if it had been ripped open in any place, andthen felt of it in every part, but without discovering anything like aforeign substance in it.
Under the berth, or rather bedstead, was a considerable space, where atrunk or other package could be placed. I lighted the lamp in thestate-room, and took it from the gimbals, for it was dark under thebed. I looked and felt in every part of the space, but I had no bettersuccess. I examined every hole and corner in the state-room, but foundno such package as that for which I was looking.
"I find nothing that looks like money," I said to Colonel Shepard, whowas watching the operations with deep interest.
"Blastblow has no better luck in the other state-room. Do you concludefrom this fact that you have been mistaken?" inquired the owner of theIslander.
"I do not; I feel morally sure that Nick took that money," I replied,confidently.
"You may be mistaken, Captain Alick," added Colonel Shepard, with asmile. "If he took the package we should be likely to find it in hisroom."
"I grant that I expected to find it here; or a part of the money inthis room, and the rest of it in Cornwood's state-room," I added,rather warmly. "There are other places where the package could havebeen concealed."
"That is true; but Nick's room was the place where he was most likelyto put it."
"I think so myself; but Nick has had the advice of Cornwood since theIslander reached Key West."
"Cornwood is a cunning rogue, I know."
"If we had suspected that Nick was on board the Islander, we might havetelegraphed to the police at Key West to arrest him and detain thesteamer," I continued. "I am satisfied that Cornwood would not havegone to Key West if he had not expected to find Nick on board of theIslander. At least, he would not have gone without the hundred dollarshe asked to pay his expenses in advance."
"Your logic seems to be entirely correct, but the facts so far do notseem to bear out the theory," laughed the colonel. "But I haverecovered my steam-yacht, and I am entirely happy over the result sofar."
"I have no desire to prove that Nick Boomsby is a thief and a rascal;on the contrary, I should be glad to have him relieved of the suspicionthat hangs to him just now. Cornwood may have considered that thestate-rooms were the most unsafe places on board of the vessel toconceal the money, and even Nick himself may have come to thisconclusion before he had seen Cornwood."
"There is some reason in that," said the colonel. "Everybody inJacksonville knew that both yachts were bound to New Orleans. Nick mayhave suspected that he would be charged with the robbery. He is oldenough to understand all about the telegraph, and he may have put themoney where it was not likely to be found, or if found, might notappear to have any connection with him."
Captain Blastblow had made as thorough a search in the port as I had inthe starboard state-room, and had joined us in the cabin while we weretalking about the matter. He seemed to fall in with our reasoning, andexpressed his satisfaction that he had not been boarded by officers,who might have suspected him of being concerned in the robbery of thebank messenger.
"Cornwood has been on board of the Islander three days now," I said."Have you seen much of him, Captain Blastblow, during this time?"
"Very little indeed. From the time he came on board Sunday, I think Ihardly saw him at all until Monday afternoon. He was in closeconversation with Mr. Boomsby most of the time, the steward said to me.The first night they sat up till after midnight; and Lonsdale saysthere was a good deal of strong talk between them," replied thecaptain.
"Do you know what it was about?" I asked.
"I haven't the least idea. I inquired how the passengers were gettingon, and Lonsdale told me he thought they were in some kind of aquarrel."
"You don't spend any of your time in the cabin, do you, CaptainBlastblow?" asked the owner.
"I haven't had time even to come into it on this trip, though I intendto go through it every day, to see that everything is in order. I havehad all I could do the last week to look out for the vessel, with twoheavy gales and plenty of fog," replied the captain. "I had to make aharbor at Matanzas Inlet, and again at Tavernier's, for I was afraidthis little craft would roll her engine out of her."
"We kept on through the whole of it Friday night," I added.
"You were outside of the reef, and you could not make a harbor,"retorted Captain Blastblow. "But I got to Key West two hours before youdid."
"You did not go to the assistance of a wrecked bark as I did, and landher ship's company in Key West," I replied.
The captain of the Islander wanted to know about the wreck; and atanother time I told him all about it. We were too much concerned inverifying our theory in relation to the robbery in Jacksonville toagree to any long digression.
"Is the steward the only person who has been a constant visitor to thecabin?" I asked.
"Gibbs, the waiter, did all the work in the cabin; and he must haveseen more of the passengers than even the steward," replied thecaptain.
"Where is Gibbs?"
"Probably on deck, or asleep in some corner."
"Perhaps we had better call the steward and waiter," suggested ColonelShepard.
The captain went to the head of the companion-way, and called thesteward. Mr. Lonsdale had not spent much time in the cabin, though heslept in one of the berths abaft the state-rooms. He confirmed thestatement of the captain that there had been a great deal of earnestconversation between the Floridian and the "young swell." He neverlistened to private conversation, and he had not the remotest idea whatthey were talking about. Perhaps Gibbs, the waiter, might know moreabout the matter than he did.
Gibbs was found to be fast asleep on a sofa in the after part of thecabin. He knew nothing at all about what had happened since theIslander came into the river, and appeared to be not a little surprisedwhen he saw the owner and myself. He was a light Mulatto, a verygood-looking fellow, and I judged that he was intelligent.
"Where are the passengers, Gibbs?" asked Captain Blastblow.
"I don't know, sir; somewhere about the vessel, I suppose; most likelyasleep in the staterooms," replied the waiter.
"Where do they spend their time when the
y are below?" continued thecaptain, in an easy and indifferent tone.
Gibbs answered the question in a very indefinite manner. The passengerswere mostly in their state-rooms, on the sofa, or sitting in thechairs.
"Have you noticed them in any particular place in the cabin, except intheir state-rooms, in the chairs, or on the sofas?" I asked, withconsiderable energy, for the waiter seemed to be rather stupid andbewildered, and I thought he needed something to wake him up.
"Yes, sir; I seen them both on the cabin floor this morning," answeredGibbs, with more life in his tones and manner than I had seen before.
"On the floor!" exclaimed Colonel Shepard. "What were they doing on thefloor?"
"I don't know, sir. I had cleared away the breakfast-dishes, and wenton deck to smoke. I found it a little cool, and I came down again formy coat," replied Gibbs, talking quite glibly now. "As soon as I camedown stairs, they got up."
"Where were they at the time?" I inquired.
"Right under the companion-way, sir."
"And you could not tell what they were doing on the floor?"
"No, sir; they were crawling out from under the companion-way when Isaw them."
We questioned the steward and the waiter for some time longer, but wegot nothing more out of them. We asked the captain to send them ondeck, and to direct Captain Cayo and Buck Lingley not to allow anyperson to communicate with their prisoners.
The companion-way consisted of stairs with steps, but with no risers toobstruct the light from the stern ports. It was not probable that thepassengers had secreted the bills forming the package in such a placeas this. But we carefully examined every foot of space under thecompanion-way. We were about to give up the search in this part of thecabin, when I felt something under the carpet, beneath the lower step.I found that a portion of the carpet had been torn up, and I pulled itover. Reaching it again, I felt the package more distinctly; but I wasdisappointed because it seemed to be too small for the one that hadbeen lost. I drew it out.
"This can't be it," I said. "It is not more than half the size of theone the messenger laid on the counter in the saloon."
"It ought not to be more than half as large," added the colonel. "Itappears that there has been some earnest talk among the passengers ofthe Islander. What could this have been about except the division ofthe spoils?"
While he was speaking, I had taken off the paper which inclosed thepackage. It was the same color as that I had seen in the saloon. Onremoving the covering, I came to the two tin plates, and saw a pile ofmoney, in bills, between them.
"Of course there is only one half of the plunder, and Boomsby dividedwith Cornwood," said Colonel Shepard.
"Where is the other half?" I asked, blankly.
"I have no doubt this half belongs to my friend Mr. Boomsby; and I haveno more doubt Cornwood would have stolen it by the time they got to NewOrleans," added the colonel.
We concluded that it would not be as easy to find the second half ofthe treasure as it had been the first.
