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Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir, 1863-1944

"Poison Island"


'Gow's Gulf,' 'Cape Fea'--Gow was a pirate and a hard nut at that;
and Fea, if I remember, his lieutenant or something of the sort; but
they had gone their ways before ever this was printed, and
consequently before ever these crosses came to be written on it.
You follow me, ma'am?"
Miss Belcher gave a contemptuous sniff which, I doubt not, would have
prefaced the remark that an unweaned child would arrive unaided at
the same conclusions; but here I interposed.
"Captain Coffin," said I, "told me that a part of the treasure was
church plate, and that he had seen it. He showed me a coin, too, and
said it came from the island."
"Hey, lad? What sort of coin?"
But to this I could give no answer, except that it was a piece of
gold, and in size perhaps a trifle smaller than a guinea.
"That's a pity, lad. The coin might have helped us. You're sure now
that you can't remember? It hadn't a couple of pillars engraved on
it, for instance?"
I shook my head. I had taken no particular heed of the stamp on the
coin.
Captain Branscome sighed his disappointment.
"The church plate don't help us at all," he said, "or very little.
Why, I've heard this Honduras treasure dated so far back as Morgan's
time, when he sacked Panama.


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