Page:Here and there in Yucatan - miscellanies (IA herethereinyucat00lepl 0).djvu/38

 thrown on the boxes, saying that they would take better care of them dead than alive, because anyone finding bones would look no further. The trench Was then refilled, and on it three stones were placed to form a triangle, a crowbar being buried ten steps from them. Our ship was soon afterwards captured, and every one on board put to death except me, because I was young and had been kidnapped.'

"After much persuasion," continued Don Pedro, he pretended to look for the treasure, but I think he feared to indicate the spot lest we should kill him, as the others had proposed to do, though we would not have hurt the old man. We took him to our village, and he went to Campeche, where he died. Nothing was heard about the treasure for several years, during which time we formed this village, when one day men arrived from Campeche, bringing a government permit to dig for it. All the trenches back of the old church were made by their order. They did not look at the north point of the island, but they were so sure of finding the money that they paid the people here who worked for them double their usual wages, and spent many dollars, going away so much poorer, for they found nothing. They had lost a map, they said, that indicated the existence of a high stone