"/What!/" exclaimed the Squire. "Why, I thought that the whole thing
was a myth."
"No, that it ain't, sir," said George with a melancholy smile, "cos
I've seen it."
Ida had sunk into a chair.
"What is the amount?" she asked in a low eager voice.
"I have been unable to calculate exactly, but, speaking roughly, it
cannot be under fifty thousand pounds, estimated on the value of the
gold alone. Here is a specimen of it," and Harold pulled out a handful
of rials and other coins, and poured them on to the table.
Ida hid her face in her hand, and Edward Cossey realising what this
most unexpected development of events might mean for him, began to
tremble.
"I should not allow myself to be too much elated, Mr. de la Molle," he
said with a sneer, "for even if this tale be true, it is treasure
trove, and belongs to the Crown."
"Ah," said the Squire, "I never thought of that."
"But I have," answered the Colonel quietly. "If I remember right, the
last of the original de la Molles left a will in which he especially
devised this treasure, hidden by his father, to your ancestor. That it
is the identical treasure I am fortunately in a position to prove by
this parchment," and he laid upon the table the writing he had found
with the gold.
Pages:
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487