Page:Fairview Boys at Lighthouse Cove.djvu/22

18 there really one at Lighthouse Cove? If there is I'm going to have a hunt for his gold. Did he hide it in a cave, or bury it on the beach? And is there an old map of it, drawn in blood?"

Sammy Brown's eyes were shining with eagerness.

"Oh, what a funny boy!" exclaimed Mrs. Bouncer, with a laugh. "I never expected you would take me up so quickly."

"Why, is it a joke, ma?" asked Bob.

"I don't know whether it is or not," Mrs. Bouncer replied, and she did not smile this time. "I really don't know why I mentioned it," she went on. "It slipped out before I knew it."

"Then there is really pirate gold there; is there?" asked Bob.

"Oh, as to that I can't say. You see, boys, it's this way. I did not intend to speak of it to you, Bob, until we got there, for I didn't want any excitement. But, since it slipped from me, I'll tell you all I know.

"When I went down to Lighthouse Cove, in the Spring, to see about hiring a cottage for the Summer, I met an old sailor who had charge of some of the places that were shut up for the Winter. After looking at several cottages I picked out one named 'Barnacle.' It was a little too large, but it was in an ideal spot, right in the centre of the cove shore. It is lovely there, and near the lighthouse.

"Well, I was talking to this old sailor, whose name is Hamp Salina, and I asked him if Lighthouse Cove was a good place for a lively boy to have fun—I was thinking of you, Bob."

"What did he say?" asked Bob, eagerly.

"Well, he said it was the finest spot a boy could wish for, and if everything else failed to amuse him, he could spend his time digging for the pirate gold. I asked him what he meant,