it close. Don't let 'em get that map away from you. They'll
try--oh, they'll try dreadful hard. I got it from my grandfather,
who had it direct from Captain Kidd himself, so I know it's correct.
Now, Bob, you'd better go. Take good care of the map and bring me
the treasure."

He thrust the yellow, crackling piece of parchment into Bob's hands
and opened the door.

"Put it in your pocket," he cautioned as Bob went out. "Some one
might see you."

Now Bob was quite a level-headed youth, and though he knew that
sometimes treasure might be found on islands in the ocean, where it
had been hidden by modern pirates or illegal pearl fishers, he did
not take much stock in what Captain Obed had told him.

Still he thought it would be no harm to take the parchment and show
it to Captain Spark. That seasoned mariner would soon be able to
tell if it was worth anything. At any rate, Bob was not going to
lie awake at night over the possibility--the very small
possibility--of securing the treasure.

"Guess I'll have to make a better bargain for my share of it before
I do much searching," he decided.

The boy said nothing to his parents about the parchment map. He
preferred letting Captain Spark know of it first, as that seemed
fairer to the old sailor who had given it to him. Then, as the time
was drawing nearer to the date of sailing, Bob's thoughts dwelt more