Not only was he very fat, he was also rather lazy, and so the household duties fell to his share; he had to cook and bake, make the nets to catch fish and to sell in the market, and help to cultivate their little field. His companion was the direct opposite, tall and thin, with bold features, a hooked nose like a hawk’s, and sharp eyes; he was the hardest-working and most intrepid of fishermen, the most venturesome climber after bird’s eggs, which were found in the rocky crevices of the cliffs, and the most industrious field labourer on the island, as well as being one of the keenest to drive a bargain in the market of Kirkwall. But as his wares were good and he always traded honestly, everyone liked to deal with him, and Will Hawk, as his neighbours nicknamed him, in spite of his fondness for money, always shared his profits willingly with Caspar Stump, so that the two of them not only made a very good living, but were able to put by something for a rainy day. But Will Hawk was not content with that, he wanted to be _rich_, _very rich_, and as he knew that sheer hard work, such as his, rarely brought in extraordinary wealth, he began to think that he must try and find out some other means of making money, and taking it for granted that he would succeed, he discussed the matter freely with Caspar Stump. Caspar, who accepted everything that Will said as Gospel truth, told his neighbours of the fortune his companion was about to make, and so a rumour went abroad that Will Hawk had sold his soul to the evil one. At first Will laughed at these reports, but gradually he began to wish that some spirit would appear and tell him where he might discover buried treasure, and he ceased to contradict the neighbours when they joked him about it. It is true he still continued to carry on his ordinary occupation, but with less zeal, and often wasted the time when he should have been fishing in idle wanderings after adventures which he hoped would make him rich. Unfortunately for him as he was one day standing on the sea-shore gazing out to sea, as though he expected the waves rolling in to bring a fortune to his feet, one big wave washed up a quantity of shingle and lose sea-weed, and amongst the sea-weed a yellow ball, a ball of pure gold. Will stood as though enchanted; his hopes of untold wealth had not been empty dreams, the sea had given him gold, pure shining gold, which the action of the sea had worn down, probably from a large bar, to a ball the size of a bullet. It seemed quite clear to him now that at some time a richly-laden vessel must have gone to pieces on the rocks, and that it was for him to find and raise the buried treasures, hidden beneath the waves. From this time he devoted all his energies to the task, carefully hiding his find from all, even from his friend. He neglected everything else and spent days and nights on the sea-shore, not casting out fishing nets, but using a drag which he had made on purpose to haul in treasure.