Page:Barbour--Lost island.djvu/404

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.

THE PRIZE IS WON

about, so much as losing it," the boy replied. "Tempest, I'm really sorry now that I ever mentioned this rotten treasure to you. You 've been fine right through. I do wish you could have got a fortune out of it."

"A fortune!" said his friend. "I'd be as miserable as a yellow pup with a tin can tied to its tail if I had a fortune."

"Well, half of what we might have found, anyway," said Dave.

"That would have depended on the amount of the treasure," mused Tempest. "If I had a lot of money, I should be unhappy till it was all gone except about five thousand dollars. That's the share of the treasure I should have taken—just enough to let me settle down on a small farm in South Carolina where I was reared. I wouldn't have touched another penny, not only because I shouldn't want it, but because I shouldn't feel I had any right to accept more. You see, I'm only one of your crew, the same as Jim, really. How-

375