him?" Hanz would say, when accused by the settlers of aiding designing
men to get their hard earnings. But all he could say and protest did not
relieve him of the suspicion that he was a participant in getting up
the enterprise. In short, there was the old story of his knowledge of
where Kidd's treasure was buried lending color of truth to the
statements made to his injury by Chapman.

The innocent Dutch settlers would gather at Bright's inn of an evening,
smoke their pipes, mutter their discontent at the way things had turned,
compare their "equivalents," and relate how much saving it had cost them
to get the money thrown away on them. If it had not been for Hanz
Toodleburg, they said, not a man of them would have believed a word of
the story about Mr. Kidd and his money. Indeed, they would insist on
laying all their sorrows at Hanz's door.

Chapman had also circulated a report, which had gained belief among the
settlers, that the trouble was caused by the devil refusing to surrender
the key of the big iron chest; that he had been heard under
sounding-rock, making terrible noises, and threatening to destroy every
man working in the shaft. Then it was said that the ghost had reappeared
and so frightened the men that they had refused to work. Another story
was set afloat that the bottom had fallen out of the pit, and the iron
chest containing the treasure had sunk beyond recovery. The simple fact
was that the cunning fellows never expected to find a dollar.

These strange stories agitated Nyack for several weeks, and under their
influence Chapman so managed to divide opinion that Hanz had to bear the
greater share of blame for bringing distress on the poor people. One and
then another of his neighbors would chide him, and say it was all his
fault that they had lost their money and had nothing to show for it but