41 Lure O Gold 1904

"
Do
"
The Lure o 9
Gold
those bulkhead doors now if
you d give me all your
treasure."
A terrible blast struck the Modesto, and there was a
crashing noise up on deck that must have been from a
great wave washing over her.
you hear that ? said Mr. Nason.
"
You can t
expect me to be opening up bulkheads while that s
going on."
He turned quickly and walked out of the steerage,
the Doctor and I following him.
"It s no use thinking about the treasure now," ad
vised the Doctor.
"
They can t do anything with it
to hide it in another part of the ship,
I mean until
after we re out of this storm."
"When do you think that will be, Doctor?" I asked.
"
There s no telling.
center we may be carried along
If we get sucked into the storm
with it for a week. But
she ll ride it all right, my boy, never fear. Only I wish
we had some cargo aboard, or ballast, or something.
Your gold down in the hold there is pretty heavy, but
it doesn t seem to keep us steady; and the broken bot
tles and the dead man are not settling us very deep in
the water either." He said this in a half -quizzical way,
and I wondered if he really accepted and believed what
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