Cuthbert rose to his feet and shook back his hair. His dark eyes
flashed with the fixity of his purpose.

"I will never despair till the treasure is found. Prithee, good
cousin, show me the spot where it was buried first."

Cuthbert never stirred outside the house till after dark. He was
still in hiding from his father, who knew not his whereabouts, and
was still on the watch for the truant, believing him to be lurking
about in the forest around his home. Philip had once contrived to
see Petronella and soothe her fears, telling her that her brother
was safe, and would be sent forth to their kinsfolk in London so
soon as he was fit for the long ride. But many evening rambles had
been taken by the youth, who panted for the freedom of the forest,
to which he was so well used; and Kate delighted in any excuse for
a moonlight stroll.

The place was soon found. Kate had visited it so often that the
tangled path which led thither was as familiar to her as if it had
been a well-beaten road. It lay right away in the very heart of the
forest, and save for the majestic size of the oak beneath which the
chests had been buried, had nothing to mark the spot. Now there
were traces of much digging. The ground all around had been
disturbed again and yet again by eager searchers, each hopeful to
come upon some clue missed by all the rest. But nothing, save the
remains of a few iron-bound chests, served to show that anything
had once been secreted there; and the moonlight shone steadily and
peacefully down upon the scene of so many heart-burnings and
grievous disappointments, as though such things did not and could
not exist in such a still and lovely place.