He was convinced of this now, and reaching the bottom he took up an iron rod, and began to move slowly about over the rotten timbers that had been uncovered, and to probe and search in all directions. The sand had been cleared out of the vessel all but amidships, and there they had at the first attempt come upon remains that showed how a large number of the crew must have been below deck when the ship sunk; and as the silver seemed to lie away from here, Dutch and Mr Parkley had agreed to leave the bones buried in the sand where they lay; but now that this imperative order had come from their taskmaster Dutch took the piece of iron, and began to search with it by thrusting it down into the sand. He shuddered as he did so, for he could tell that it certainly came in contact with buried bones, sometimes, by the feel, with a skull, and several times he left off with a shudder, resuming his task in a hopeless way, and wondering whether success were to attend their effort, and when it would be made. Just then the recollection of the rich treasure in gold that was known only to himself came to his mind, and he smiled as he thought of what would be Laure's feelings if he knew what had been left behind. And as he thought of this, he thrust the iron rod down once more, and his heart began to beat again, for, unless he was much mistaken, there beneath the remains of the former occupants of the galleon lay just such a receptacle as the one he had formerly found. He probed again and again, making deep holes in the sand, which were filled up directly he withdrew the rod; and now, marking out the spot, he became convinced, not that it was gold, but that another goodly treasure of metal lay beneath the sand. It were all plain enough, just a square receptacle, all metal, he believed gold, but certainly silver was there, and as soon as he thrust the probe down outside that square it went down, down through wood and sand to any depth. "It is another treasure of gold," exclaimed Dutch, and his words sounded strangely to him as they were spoken in the hollow of his helmet, and he paused to consider whether he should announce his discovery, or keep it secret like the last. "It shall be a secret," he said. "We may live to survive this unfortunate voyage, and if we do, may come again, for here is what would recompense us for all our pains, and it is no uncertainty; no, there is the treasure, and--" He signalled sharply for more air, looking up through the clear bright sunlit water, and as he did so feeling that the supply was stopped, he saw that the long india-rubber tube had been cut, and was sinking slowly towards him, like some strange grey snake. STORY ONE, CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. IN PERIL. Hester turned shuddering away as she saw Laure's eyes fixed upon her, and soon began to tremble as she recalled a previous occasion when under a threat the Cuban exacted a promise from her, one that, believing her husband's life at stake, she had given.