CHAPTER X
HIDDEN TREASURE
"Take time to tidy up and put on clean blouses," called out Mrs. Rose asthe girls went to their rooms.
But they made quick work of it, and helped each other in the matter ofhair ribbons and soon three very trim and tidy young persons in cleanwhite linen presented themselves, hungry for their dinner.
Maria had a steaming chicken stew for them, with fluffy white dumplingsthat showed no sign of being "spoilt"; in fact, she had not cooked themuntil after the family's return.
"Was there ever anything so good!" exclaimed Dolly as she received asecond portion of the fricassee.
"Everything tastes good up here," said Dotty, "but Maria sure is a dandyon stewed chicken. But go easy, Doll, for I happen to know there's anApple Betty to follow and just you wait till you see that!"
But Dolly's camp appetite was quite equal to the Apple Betty also,which was, as Dolly had predicted, a triumph in the matter of desserts.
"I feel as if I had been to a party," Dolly said as they left the table."I believe I've eaten more to-day than I do in a week at home."
"It's the air," said Mr. Rose. "Crosstrees' air is the greatestappetiser known to man. If I could bottle it and sell it, I'd make myeverlasting fortune. Now, may I ask what you young ladies have on handfor this afternoon?"
"Nothing particular," said Dotty. "Why?"
"Because I asked a few young people from the neighbouring camps to comeover here for awhile."
"A party?" cried Genie. "Oh, Daddy, a party?"
"Not exactly a party; only half a dozen of the Norrises and Holmeses."
"Lovely!" cried Dotty. "I haven't seen the Norrises since last year, andI don't know the Holmeses. Who are they?"
"Mr. Holmes is a friend of mine and his daughter Edith is about the ageof you girls, and they have two or three guests."
"And the Norrises, Maisie and Jack, are awfully nice," said Dotty."You'll like them, Doll; Maisie is something like you."
"She isn't a bit like Dolly," put in Genie, "'cept she's fat and yellowheaded and blue eyed. But she isn't half as pretty as Dolly, so don'tyou mind, Dollyrinda."
"Oh, I don't mind," and Dolly laughed. "I don't think a blue-eyedTowhead can be pretty anyway. I like dark eyes and dark curls best."
"Thank you, ma'am," and Dotty dropped a curtsey. "Shall we dress up,Mother?"
"No; those clean blouses are all right. It's just a camp frolic, not aformal party."
"It's a Kidd party," observed Mr. Rose, looking mysterious.
"A kid party?" echoed Dotty; "of course. I didn't s'pose it was agrown-up party, Daddy, for us children."
Mr. Rose only laughed and turned away, and the girls wandered out towardthe open tent where Dolly had gone to bed the night before.
The hemlock-bough beds were covered now with big spreads of gay cretonneand many cretonne pillows, and served as day couches.
The sight of the tent recalled to Dolly's mind the events of the nightbefore, and she suddenly experienced a wave of embarrassment and remorseat the way she had acted. She felt, too, that an apology was due to herhosts and somehow it didn't seem right to talk about it to the girls forshe felt that it was to Mr. and Mrs. Rose she owed an explanation.
"Wait here for me a minute," she said suddenly to Dolly and Genie, andturning, she ran back to the bungalow.
She found Mr. and Mrs. Rose in the living room, and going straight tothem she said impulsively, "I was very naughty to run away last nightand I want to apologise. You see I got homesick--"
"Bless your heart; don't say a word about it," said Mr. Rose, in thekindest tones; "that's part of the performance, child. Everybody getshomesick the first night in camp. It's to be expected. Then, you see,the next day they begin to like it and the third day you couldn't drivethem home."
"But I was very impolite to go away like that--"
"Never mind, Dollikins," and Mrs. Rose put her arm around her littlevisitor; "it's all right, dearie; don't think of it again. I knowperfectly well how forlorn you felt and how you wanted your mother. AndI know, too, you were chilly and you felt strange and lonesome andcouldn't sleep. But that's all over now and we won't even think of itagain. If you don't sleep all right to-night and if you want to go hometo-morrow, I'll take you down myself, right straight to where yourmother is. Now put it all out of your mind and scamper back to Dotty.The party will be coming pretty soon now."
"Run along," and Mr. Rose patted the golden head. "You wouldn't havebeen the right kind of a guest at all if you hadn't been homesick thefirst night. But I'll bet you a ripe red apple that you won't want to gohome to-morrow, but if you do want to you shall. Now skip along, for ifI'm not mistaken I hear a motor boat and like as not it's that bunchfrom the Holmes'."
Dolly ran away, her heart greatly lightened by the kind attitude of herhosts, and though she felt sorry she had run away the night before, shedid not feel so ashamed since they had so pleasantly made light of it.
Sure enough, the party of young people were just coming along the pier,and Edith Holmes, a bright girl of about Dolly's age, was introducingherself and her friends.
"I'm Edith Holmes," she said, laughing, "and these are my cousins, Guyand Elmer. They're nice enough boys, but here's their sister Josie whois nicer yet."
Josie was a shy little thing, who blushed and cast down her eyes atEdith's praise.
"I thought the Norrises would be here," went on Edith, "and as they knowus and know you they could introduce us better. But we'll just scrapeacquaintance."
"Oh, that's all right," said Dotty. "I'm Dotty Rose and this is my chum,Dolly Fayre, and my little sister, Genie. I have a brother but he isn'there." She smiled at the boys as she said this and Elmer Holmes said,"That doesn't matter; we just love to play with girls. And anyhow herecomes Jack Norris to keep us in countenance."
Jack and Maisie Norris came along, having walked over from the nextcamp. They were acquainted with the Holmes' young people as bothfamilies had been there all summer.
Introductions over, they all sat along the edge of the open tent. Thefloor of this, being only about a foot above ground, made a convenientseat and those who wished had cushions to sit on or lean against.
"Awful glad you people got up here at last," said Maisie Norris as shetwisted one of Dotty's curls round her finger. "Is your arm all well,Dot?"
"Yes, though it isn't awfully strong yet. I have to be a little careful.But it was my left one, you know, so I can play croquet and tennis anddo most everything."
"You had a gay old mixup, didn't you?" said Jack Norris, smiling atDolly. "You broke yourself, too, didn't you?"
"Oh, yes; you know Dotty and I are next-door neighbours this year, andwhatever one of us does the other has to. But we're both mended now andready for any sort of fun."
Then Mr. Rose came along, bringing about a dozen spades. They were smallones, such as come with children's gardening tools, and he gave one toeach of the young people present.
"What for?" asked Elmer Holmes, as he looked at the shining new tool.
"I told my girls that this was to be a Kidd party," said Mr. Rose, "butthey didn't quite understand what I meant. Now I'll explain. Has eachone a spade?"
"Yes," and the nine boys and girls held them up.
"All right then. Now, what you want to do is to dig for Captain Kidd'sburied treasure. You have all heard that old Captain Kidd buried a lotof treasure somewhere, but I doubt if you were aware that he buried itin Crosstrees Camp. However, there is a tradition to that effect and soI would like you to do your best to find it. Tradition says that thetreasure was buried somewhere near the spot where we are now. It ishidden, I believe, not farther than fifty feet away in any directionfrom this open tent, so everybody may dig wherever he chooses withinthat radius, and see if he can unearth the treasure."
"But, Daddy," said Genie, "how do we know where to dig?"
"That you must decide for yourselves. Dig any place you like; turn upthe whole area if you choose; or, if you see a plac
e that seemsespecially hopeful, dig there. I feel sure the treasure is really buriedsomewhere around and it's up to you young people to discover where itmay be."
"We'll find it!" and Jack Norris brandished his spade in the air. "Comeon, girls and boys; let's dig down to China if necessary, but let's getKidd's old treasure chest."
The young people scattered, looking about for probable places to dig.
Dolly, a little unused to digging, began rather aimlessly to toss up thesoil near by where she stood.
"Oh, I say," said Jack Norris, "don't start in that way. Come along withme and let's find a place that looks promising."
They walked away, looking eagerly at the ground about them, when Dollyspied something white under the leaves of a vine.
"Oh, look here!" she cried, and Jack stooped down to see what it was.They saw a grinning skull and cross bones made of white plaster andpartly sunken in the earth.
"Geewhillikens! we've struck it!" cried Jack, "or rather you have! Ifelt sure from that twinkle in Mr. Rose's eye that there was some way ofknowing where to dig. This is it, of course. The treasure is buriedhere! Let's dig for it!"
Carefully setting aside the little skull, which was only a papier-machetoy, they both began to dig desperately.
"The ground is soft! It has lately been dug, you see, to plant the boxhere. How lucky you saw that white thing under the leaves."
"You would have seen it if I hadn't," said Dolly, not wanting to takeall the credit to herself. "It's buried pretty deep, isn't it?"
"Yes, sort of. Don't you dig any more, if you're tired; I'll dig therest of the way."
Dolly paused a few moments, and Jack went on digging. At last he said,as he straightened himself up and wiped his brow with his handkerchief,"Do you know, I believe we're hoaxed! I believe that skull was there tofool us!"
"Oh, I'll bet it was!" and Dolly's eyes danced as she realised thesituation. "Maybe there are other skulls in other places!"
"I shouldn't wonder. Let's go and see."
"Let's fill up this hole first and put the skull back to fool somebodyelse."
"All right," and Jack hastily tossed the dirt back into the hole, andreplaced the little white skull.
"Somebody is coming this way! Let's hide," and Dolly and Jack quicklywhisked themselves behind a clump of trees.
Guy Holmes and Maisie Norris came along and they spied the white skullwhich Jack had left placed rather more conspicuously than he had foundit.
"Oh, look at that!" cried Guy, and Maisie exclaimed, "This is the rightplace, of course! We've struck it at last! That pirate flag was just tofool us. Hooray! let's dig!"
Dolly and Jack could scarcely keep from laughing aloud as they saw thenewcomers digging desperately in the very spot they had dug themselves.
At last Jack beckoned to Dolly and they softly glided away withoutletting the others know of their presence.
"Now we want to find where it really is," whispered Jack as soon as theywere out of hearing of the others. "I say, this is a great game! andwe've learned something from those people. The spot marked with a pirateflag is not the right one! When we find that, there is no use ofdigging."
The pair went on, prospecting for a likely place to dig. There were somany trees and shrubs, that often there would be no view of any of theother seekers. And then again they would come across groups of two orthree, or perhaps one alone digging desperately or looking disappointedat a failure.
Gay greetings were exchanged or words of sympathy and commiseration andeach went on his chosen way.
"Do you know," said Jack at last, "I shouldn't be surprised if the realplace isn't marked at all. Hullo, what's this?" Right at his feet lay atoy bowie-knife. Though made of pasteboard, it was a ferocious-lookingaffair and the spot where it was had not been disturbed.
"I don't believe that's the right place," said Jack, who had grownsuspicious of misleading clues. "Anyway, Dolly, let's leave that, andcome back to it if we don't find anything more hopeful."
So they wandered on and next they came to the pirate flag. This blackand white emblem was planted above a much dug up space and they laughedas they concluded that several trials had been made there.
Soon they came upon Dotty and Josie Holmes who were hastily digging at aspot which had been marked by two stakes. They had pulled up the stakes,but as yet had not found any treasure.
"Bet it isn't there," said Jack, looking closely at the two stakes.
"Why?" demanded Dotty.
"Dunno. Somehow it doesn't seem 'sif it is. Come on, Dolly, let's tryagain."
"Go on," said Dotty; "I think this is the place. Josie and I feelcertain of it. Go on, you two, and good luck to you."
Shouldering their spades, Jack and Dolly trudged on.
"Let's think it out," said Jack, seating himself on a flat rock, whileDolly did likewise. "I believe we can think out where Mr. Rose wouldhave been likely to put the thing. Now I don't believe it would be veryclose to where he started us. These nearby digging places are allfrauds. Let's go to the limit of the space he said, and try all 'roundthe edge."
"How can you tell?" And Dolly looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Why, he said fifty feet, you know, and I can pace off what ought to beabout fifty feet and then we'll walk all the way round."
They did this, and as they walked round the circle which Jack declaredwas about the boundary of the fifty-foot radius, they soon came upon agood-sized iron key.
"This is it!" cried Jack; "we've struck it! This is the key to thechest, and the chest is buried here!"
"Good work!" and Guy Holmes and Maisie Norris appeared just in time tohear Jack's exclamation. "Come on, let's all dig!"
"No," said Dolly, sitting down on the ground; "I can't dig any more; I'mtoo tired. Maisie and I will sit here while you boys do the digging."
"All right," the boys agreed, and they fell to work with a will.
They had thrown out but a few spadefulls of dirt, when they strucksomething hard.
"Hooray! hurroo!" cried Guy; "we've got it! We've struck the treasure!"
"Sure we have!" and Jack flung out the dirt excitedly. "Easy there now,old fellow! Look out! It's the chest, sure enough!"
The two girls jumped up and ran to look, as the boys uncovered onecorner of what seemed to be an old brass-bound chest.
"It is; it is!" cried Dolly. "We've found it. Hooray, everybody! We'vefound the treasure!"
As her voice rang out the others left their digging and all congregatedabout the lucky finders.
Other spades were set to work and in a short time willing hands liftedthe old chest from the hole and set it up on the solid earth.
"It's locked!" cried somebody, as several tried to open it at once.
"Of course it is," said Dolly; "don't you remember, Jack, it was the keythat first showed us where it was. What did you do with that key?"
"I don't know," and Jack Norris began looking around.
"I know," said Dolly, laughing; "you left it on the ground and youspaded out the dirt all over it. Now you'll have to dig for the key!"
"That's just what I did do! If I'm not the chump!" and Jack began to digin the heap of dirt they had thrown up out of the hole.
"Toss it back in the hole," cried Guy, and in a jiffy the dirt was flungback where it came from and the key was discovered.
"Don't let's open the box here," said Dolly; "I think we ought to takeit to Mr. Rose first."
"I think so, too," agreed Jack Norris, and the boys carried the big box,while Dolly and the girls followed with the key.
"Here you are, Captain Kidd," cried Jack as they met Mr. Rose alreadycoming to meet them.
"Found it, did you?" said that gentleman, smiling at the band oftreasure seekers. "Bring it along and we'll open it."
They all followed him to the bungalow veranda, and there the treasurechest was unlocked.
It contained a little souvenir for everybody present and there wereexclamations of delight over the pretty trinkets that were f
ound tied upin dainty tissue paper parcels that did not look at all as if they hadbeen prepared by Captain Kidd or his pirate crew!
Dolly's gift was a pretty writing tablet, well furnished, and uponwhich, she declared, she should write a long letter home telling of thetreasure hunt and its success.
Later on a jolly picnic supper was served to the young people and beforethis was finished the sun had set and the stars were beginning to showabove the tall trees.
"Now for a real camp-fire," said Mr. Rose, leading the way to the opentent. "Come on, boys, and help me fetch wood."
The boys followed their host and under direction of Mrs. Rose and Dottythe open tent was transformed into a cosy and inviting place. Hemlockand spruce boughs were thrown about and partly covered with Indianblankets and many cushions and pillows and mats of woven rattan.
Mrs. Rose and the girls arranged themselves comfortably in this spicynest and when the boys returned with arms full of fagots and brush, Mr.Rose superintended the building of a glorious fire right in front of theopen tent.
Then the party all gathered together and sang songs and told stories andcracked jokes in merry mood.
The blazing fire cast grotesque shadows all about and the merrycrackling blaze was a joy of itself.
Boxes of marshmallows made their appearance and faces took on a rosyglow as the young people toasted the white lumps of delight on the endsof long forks provided by Maria.
"I never had such a good time in my life," exclaimed Dolly, her eyesdancing and her cheeks rosy as she scampered around the fire.
"Do you like camping?" asked Jack Norris, looking admiringly at thepretty laughing face.
"I just love it!" Dolly cried, and everybody wondered why all the Rosefamily chuckled with glee.
"Haven't you ever been up here before?" asked Jack.
"No; I never saw a camp-fire before. I had no idea these things weresuch fun. This has been the most beautiful day in my life!" And Dollylooked roguishly up into the face of Mr. Rose who chanced to be passingby. "And I thank you for it," she added, slipping her hand into his.
Mr. Rose gave her little hand a warm welcoming grasp as he answered,"I'm awfully glad you're enjoying it and you are very welcome to CampCrosstrees!"