to Richard: "We must get at the bottom of this. The ladies had better
go--it is nearly night."

But the ladies would do nothing of the kind. Here was something that
promised to be a mystery indeed. They remained till an iron, brass-bound
box, not large but heavy, had been disinterred and with difficulty
lifted to the surface. With still more difficulty it was conveyed to the
villa, where the expectant group waited for a smith to come and open it.

When the rusty lock was made to unclasp, the top was raised, and there,
in numerous rouleaux, was gold coin to the amount of thousands of
dollars. Excitement was now but a faint term for the sensation.

The young men were congratulated upon their find till their hands were
sore from pressure, and the ladies were embraced in proportion by
enthusiastic friends.

How came it there? Who had buried it and when? There was a legend in
those parts that four wealthy Spaniards had been pursued and butchered
by the Indians in the early days, and that they had, while fleeing away,
buried the gold in an Alabama wild. Another tradition was, that during
the siege of New Orleans, some French settlers had run the blockade and
penetrated far into the country with vast wealth that was never traced
afterwards. Some of the older citizens had also heard of a miserly
ancestor of the Lawrences (Mrs. Lee had been a Lawrence) who lived
a hermit life in the villa when it was only a log cabin; who denied
himself the simplest comforts, and who died in want; but he had been
seen by the curious counting his gold at night.

Whatever the mystery it was never solved. The facts as known were widely