Page:Barbour--Lost island.djvu/198

 Tempest asked, his habitual manner of carelessness cast aside for the moment.

"Well, if you put it up to me that way," said the skipper, blowing rings of smoke between each few words, "it's a hard question. You see, you can't get away from the fact that there is, or there was, a bark called the Hatteras there not very long ago, unless this old sailor invented it, and there's no sensible reason for supposing he did that. Then again, if any one had ever found that treasure, the papers would have had a long yarn about it, and none of us ever heard of that happening. I could tell you a whole lot more of what I think about it if only I could get one peek at the wreck. Such a lot depends on what state she is in. Mebbe there's nothing but her ribs left by now, in which case, good-by treasure. But if she's pretty deep in the sand, and if she has n't broken in half, I don't see why there should n't be a fair chance of this stuff still being on board. You see, there's a powerful difference between