awaiting time and opportunity to remove the gold, and amass to
himself this vast hoard; none beside himself of all the tribe
heeding or caring for it, all holding to the story told long ago of
the seven men who had disappeared bearing away to foreign lands the
stolen treasure. A generation had well-nigh passed since that
treasure had been filched from the grasp of the Trevlyns. The
stalwart fellows who had been bred up amongst the gipsies, or had
joined the bands of freebooters with whom they were so closely
connected, knew little of and cared nothing for the tradition of
the hidden hoard. They found gold enough in the pockets of the
travellers they waylaid to supply their daily needs; the free life
of the forest was dear to them, and left them no lingering longings
after wealth that might prove a burden instead of a joy to its
possessor.

Out of those who had been living when the treasure was stolen and
lost, only Miriam and Long Robin (if indeed it were he) and Esther
remained alive. Esther had retired to London, and was lost to her
people. Miriam had done everything to encourage the belief that the
treasure had been made away with by the seven helpers who had gone
forth, but had never returned to tell the tale. Esther, who had
thought very differently, had confined her suspicious for a time to
her own bosom, and later on had spoken of them only to Joanna. Upon
her had she laid the charge to strive to make restitution, now that
vengeance had been inflicted and the curse of the old witch
fulfilled. To Joanna it belonged to restore prosperity to the house
of Wyvern through the daughters' sons, and it was for her to strive
to learn where the treasure lay, and give notice of the spot to the
Trevlyns.