Page 360 - The snake's pass

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348 THE snake's pass.
for, if it were the spot, Dick's mark of the stones in
the Y shape would be a proof. Joyce and Norah both
refused to let us go alone, so we all went up a little
further, where the sides of the rock sloped on each
side, and where we could pass safely, as the bed was
rock and quite smooth with the stream flowing over it
in a thin sheet.
When we got to the bottom, Joyce, who was looking
round, said suddenly :
" What is that like a square block behind the high
rock on the other side ? " He went over to it, and an
instant after, gave a great cry and turned and beckoned
to us. We all ran over—and there before us, in a
crescent-shaped nook, at the base of the lofty rock, lay
a wooden chest. The top was intact, but one of the
lower corners was broken, as though with a fall ; and
from the broken aperture had fallen out a number of
coins, which we soon found to be of gold.
On the top of the chest we could make out the letters
R. F. in some metal, discoloured and corroded with
a century of slime, and on its ends were great metal
handles—to each of which something white was at-
tached. We stooped to look at them, and then Norah,
with a low cry, turned to me, and laid her head on
my breast, as though to shut out some horrid sight.
Then we investigated the mass that lay there.
At each end of the chest lay a skeleton—the flesh-
less fingers grasping the metal handle. We recog-
nized the whole story at a glance, and our hats came off.