who had spent much of his time in Cuban and Porto Rican waters. I did this fellow several favors, and in return for this he told me of a treasure said to be hidden away in one of the great caves of Porto Rico, which are located to the southwest of Caguas, and five miles west of the village of Aguas Buenas."
"And what was the treasure?" cried Leander, who sat by, his mouth half open in wonder.
"It was a treasure in Spanish gold, said to have been placed in the cavern by a smuggler, who had journeyed inland after he had found the coast of Porto Rico too hot to hold him. It was said to be locked up in a strong cedar chest, and buried under a long, flat stone upon which was cut a cross and the initials M. M. M."
"That ought to be easy to find – if you can locate the cave," said Bob.
"Exactly – if I can locate the cave. But you must remember that, although the caves of Porto Rico are but little known, the largest of them, called the Dark Cave, is said to rival your own Mammoth Cave of Kentucky."
"Gracious! If it's as big as that, then that's another question," returned Bob, and his face fell, for he was already thinking of taking a hand at treasure-hunting himself.
"I have some fairly good directions as to how to reach the cave," went on Robert Menden. He cleared his throat. "But I am getting ahead of my tale. I heard of this treasure in Madrid, and strange as it may seem, Joseph Farvel heard of it, too.
"When I returned to London, bad news awaited me. The firm I had represented had failed, and instead of getting a large sum of money for my success in Madrid, I was thrown out of employment. Times were hard and I could not secure another situation, and at last I sailed for Havana, intending to go from there to Ponce, Porto Rico, and then strike out into the interior of the island in search of the hidden chest of gold.
"You can well imagine my surprise when on the second day out I ran across Joseph Farvel, who had also taken passage for Cuba. We quarrelled once more, and he accused me of dogging his footsteps, and of wanting to get his treasure away from him. I told him I wanted nothing to do with him and that I reckoned the treasure would belong to the first man who found it."
"And so he threw you overboard later on!" exclaimed Leander. "What a rascal!"
"I am not certain that he did. I was not feeling well and I was also very sleepy, and it may be that I fell overboard by pure accident. And yet I cannot get it out of my mind but that he sneaked up behind me and gave me a gentle lift and a shove, just as the steamship was swinging to aid him." Robert Menden paused. "That is my story, and now let me know what you think of it, and where you are bound, and what you intend to do with me."
CHAPTER IV
A COMPACT OF IMPORTANCE
"It's certainly a strange story," mused Dick, and looked questioningly at the other club members, and at Danny, who stood at the doorway, taking in with wide open eyes all that was being said.
"Sure, an' if I was youse fellers I'd hunt up dat gold!" remarked the Irish lad. "Twenty t'ousand dollars! Dat's a regular – er – mint, dat is!"
"It's not ours to hunt up," answered Bob; but he looked at Dick questioningly, nevertheless.
"You want to know what I think of your story," said the leader of the club, addressing the man they had saved. "I think it's a mighty interesting yarn."
"And where are you bound?"
"We were bound for Savannah, to take on some extra ship's stores. But the storm made us turn out to sea again, and the wind has carried us a good bit out of our course."
"It looks to me as if you lads were out for pleasure."
"You are right. We form an organization known as the Gun and Sled Club. Last winter we spent a large part of our time in the woods and had immense fun. This spring my uncle left me this yacht, and we decided to sail down the Atlantic coast as far as Florida, and then go hunting and fishing and sporting generally. But I guess it's time we introduced ourselves;" and Dick proceeded to go through the usual form for all hands but old Jacob, who was still on deck, in sole charge, now that the storm was over.
The introduction and hand-shaking made everybody feel more at home, and Robert Menden questioned several of them concerning the contemplated outing. "I presume you will land me at either Savannah or in Florida," he concluded.
"Supposing we land you in Porto Rico?" said Bob, with a sudden twinkle in his eye.
"Will you do that?" asked Robert Menden, quickly.
"It's a pretty good sail for the Dashaway," said Bob, thoughtfully. "But I think it would be all right – if we could make the stores hold out."
"Hurrah! let us go to Porto Rico!" shouted Leander, who stood by. "I wanted to say go before, but I hardly dared."
"Can you go if you want to?" questioned the Englishman, as he gazed from one to another of the boys.
"Certainly," said Dick. "We can go where we please, for our time is our own, and so is our money – what little there is of it. We are not millionaires' sons, you know," he added, with a smile. "We are working this outing on as cheap a scale as possible."
"You are better off than I, who haven't a pound – "
"But you'll get that treasure – " broke in Don.
"Perhaps." Robert Menden looked very thoughtful. "Boys, I have a proposal to make to you."
"I'm ready for it, and I'll say 'yes' in advance," cried Leander.
"Then you know what is in my mind," laughed the Englishman.
"You want us to take you to Porto Rico?"
"Yes."
"And want us to help you hunt for that treasure?"
"If you care to do so. And I will give you a share of what is found."
"How much?" asked Don, who was breathing hard, and fancied he had the treasure already in his possession.
"That is a matter to be talked over. You see, I have lost my money, so if we all go together, you will have to bear the expenses of the trip."
"We'll keep the expenses down – we'll have to do it," put in Dick. "What kind of a bargain are you willing to make?"
Robert Menden thought for a moment. "I want to go to Porto Rico immediately, so that I can reach that cave before Joseph Farvel. If you set sail in that direction without delay, I think we can beat him, even if he takes a steamer from Havana to Ponce."
"I guess you are right there," answered Leander. He got out a chart and studied it for a moment. "At a rough estimate we are now about a thousand miles from the coast of Porto Rico, while the distance to that point from Havana, Cuba, is several hundred miles longer."
"And your enemy may have to lay over several days for a steamer," put in Bob.
"If he thinks you are dead he won't hurry," added Dick. "Perhaps he will stay in Havana for a week or two."
"That is what I was thinking," resumed Robert Menden. "Yet he is a very greedy fellow, and he will want to lay hands on that gold just as quickly as he can."
"Well, I guess anybody would want to do that," laughed Leander. "Such a sum of money is not to be sneezed at."
"I
